It was developed by the Soviet Union in order to disable the optical-electronic equipment of enemy missiles, ground and aerial vehicles.

The optics that produced the laser were placed at the end of a silver coated spiral which helped amplify the beam and increase convergence.

[1] This vehicle has sparked a folk tale in Romania according to which Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu used "laser weapons" in 1968 against Russian tanks.

It claims that, after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Ceaușescu received a telegram from the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom stating that the country was a target for a large-scale attack.

Believing that the Soviets would invade Romania next, especially after squashing the Prague Spring, Ceaușescu ordered the deployment of Romanian troops to reinforce the border with the USSR and equipped them with the so-called "laser weapons".