Stupitskiy plasma gun
The Stupitskiy/IAP plasma gun research is the most direct open-source evidence of a nation pursuing the MARAUDER compact-toroid concept as an offensive weapon post-2000. It is research-phase only. No evidence of a fielded system exists.
01 Definition
A Russian research program at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) studying space-based plasma guns that generate compact toroids and accelerate them for anti-satellite applications, with publications in 2019 and 2020.
02 Detailed_Analysis
Yevgeniy Stupitskiy team at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP), Russian Academy of Sciences, has published research on space-based plasma guns that generate donut-shaped blobs of plasma (compact toroids) and accelerate them to high speeds. The Russian papers explicitly reference the US MARAUDER program and Phillips Laboratory Shiva experiments. Papers published in 2019 and 2020 describe plasma toroid formation after leaving the generator, propagation through the ionosphere, and effects on satellites including decreasing transparency of optical glass and disrupting MHz-range radio and radar. The research goal is explicitly anti-satellite weapons. The IAP also developed a practical coaxial-cable plasma gun (Technical Physics Letters, 2019) that generates carbon-hydrogen plasma with electron density >10^13 cm^-3. No post-2020 publications have been found. CPW CAMPAIGN MERGE (2026-08-17): affiliation corrected — IAP = IAP RAS, Institute of Computer-Aided Design, Moscow (NOT IPF Nizhny Novgorod). Stupitskiy holds zero patents (verified).
03 Key_Facts
- ▸ IAP, Russian Academy of Sciences
- ▸ Publications in 2019 and 2020
- ▸ Explicitly references MARAUDER
- ▸ Goal: anti-satellite weapons
- ▸ Research phase, not fielded
- ▸ No post-2020 publications found
06 Related_Terms (2)
07 Related_Entities (11)
08 Timeline_Mentions (10)
Green Fireballs Near Sandia (1948-1950)
209 green fireball/orb sightings near Sandia New Mexico 1948-1950. Copper powder residue found as physical trace evidence. 116 pages of investigations released via PURSUE Release 2. Green fireballs ap
HistoricalPPPL Compact Toruses Symposium
PPPL symposium consolidating compact toroid (FRC/spheromak) research.
fusion-researchLLNL Beta II Compact Toroid Experiment
LLNL Beta II compact toroid experiment using coaxial plasma gun with LASL features. Second link in three-lab lineage: LANL (CTX) → LLNL (Beta II) → AFRL (MARAUDER).
Fusion PhysicsFoundational FRX Paper Published
W. T. Armstrong and others at LANL publish 'Field-reversed experiments (FRX) on compact toroids,' codifying FRC formation physics.
fusion-physicsLANL CTX Spheromak Experiment
LANL CTX using magnetized coaxial plasma gun to generate spheromaks. Foundational node of the three-lab compact toroid lineage.
Fusion PhysicsRussia A-60 airborne laser first flight
The Beriev A-60 airborne laser laboratory made its first flight. Based on the Il-76MD transport, it carried a 1MW-class CW laser for ASAT operations. The A-60 is the foreign equivalent of the US ABL Y
Directed EnergyFifth Symposium on the Physics and Technology of Compact Toroids
Hosted by Mathematical Sciences Northwest (MSNW), this workshop addressed FRC and Spheromak formation, focusing on slower generation methods and scaling to reactor sizes.
fusion-physicsReagan launches SDI — Shiva Star re-directed to 'Star Wars'
SDI directed energy: x-ray laser, FEL, NPB, Brilliant Pebbles. Shiva Star → MARAUDER precursor.
defense-programsFRX-C Modified for Plasma Translation
The FRX-C device at Los Alamos is modified into FRX-C/T to study the axial translation of hot, compact toroid plasmas.
fusion-physicsMARAUDER program begins — AFRL fires compact toroid plasmoids as weapons
Shiva Star facility. 100 billion g acceleration. Explicitly NOT fusion. Same facility as FRCHX. The critical link.
defense-programs09 FAQ
What is Stupitskiy plasma gun? ▾
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Quick_Facts
- Category
- Weapons
- Aliases
- Stupitskiy plasma gun, stupitskiy-plasma-gun, IAP plasma gun, Russian space plasma gun, Stupitskiy ASAT plasma
- Sources
- 2
- Related Terms
- 2
- Graph Entities
- 11
- Timeline Events
- 10