The laser works like glass cutters, Maksin said, snipping away at the ice. The ship can then use its own weight to push through.

Currently the laser cannon is being mounted on an icebreaker and tested. The laser can also cut ice heading toward oil and gas platforms in the Arctic seas, making it easer to break the ice up, reported RIA Novosti.

According to Sergey Maksin, if the tests are successful, the lasers can also be placed on lightweight ice-class vessels to help ensure the delivery of products along northern Siberian rivers, where ice is thinner. The first deliveries of the device can be expected in 2015.

Russia created Rostec to further the development, manufacture, and export of high-tech industrial products. The industrial company comprises 663 organizations, which also include 22 direct management companies and 13 holding companies, five of which specialize in the manufacture of civilian products, and eight in the manufacture of products for the military and industrial sectors. Rostec organizations are located in 60 regions of the Russian Federation. Company products are delivered to markets in more than 70 countries.