Russia to Build World's Most Powerful Laser Station

Russia is geared up to build the world's most powerful dual-purpose laser station at an approximate cost of 45 billion rubles ($1.5 billion), a Russian nuclear official said.

The station might be built near the Sarov Federal Nuclear Centre in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, said Ildar Ilkayev, the nuclear centre' head. But he did not specify when the construction would begin.

"The Russian leadership made a decision to build the world's largest laser station... The United States has already constructed a similar station and France is about to complete the construction of their own station. We [Russia] are behind them because it costs a lot, but it will be the best one in the world," Ilkayev said.

The station, he said, would be used both for military and scientific purposes, particularly in the research of laser thermonuclear fusion, which scientists view as being the energy production's backbone in future.

Ilkayev said it would take at least 10 years to build the station.