Russian troops begin to receive Peresvet lasers, nuclear-powered missiles.

Protection of compact nuclear power plants for cruise missiles and combat lasers will be reinforced. They will be transported in a special railcar with armed guards. The Defense Ministry drew a new list of military cargoes to be guarded in transportation. It includes Peresvet combat lasers and nuclear-powered cruise missiles announced by the Russian president in March. The change means the new weapons are delivered to the troops, the Izvestia daily writes.

The Russian Defense Ministry drew a new list of military cargoes to be guarded in transportation. It includes Peresvet combat lasers and nuclear-powered cruise missiles (Picture source: Russian MoD)

The Defense Ministry said it drafted new rules for the transportation of military cargoes that need protection. It said a corresponding order is to be signed by the minister by the end of the year. Besides explosives, munitions, arms and hardware, it has yet another category including laser and ionizing emission sources. The latter include nuclear reactors, Roentgen devices and nuclear plants which power super long-range cruise missiles, underwater attack craft and combat lasers.

The new list specifies in detail the obligations of the sender and the recipient which can be a scientific establishment, an enterprise or a military unit. The sender has to submit an application to the military district in advance to provide guards. It has to meet and instruct them, check and prepare the cargo and the special railcar. The recipient accepts the cargo by the inventory, signs it and hands over the railcar to a station representative, dismisses the guards not later than eight hours after arrival, buys tickets for them and, if necessary, provides transportation to the station. The guards are provided either by specialized cargo escorting battalions or other military units.

President Vladimir Putin said in his state-of-the-nation address in March the combat lasers were supplied to the troops. The delivery of the first lasers was likely done upon a special instruction to guard and escort them. The current change of the normative documents means regular supplies of such weapons are expected in the coming years, expert Dmitry Kornev said. "The military are preparing for massive deliveries of the weapons. Lasers in detection, monitoring, illumination and jamming systems acquire a massive use. Lasers are a component of precision weapons. Besides Peresvet, smaller combat systems can appear in the near future. It demands to streamline the normative base according to new trends," he told the Izvestia.