The article presents the results of a study of the processes occurring in a heat-resistant intermetallic coating under ultrafast thermal heating by a laser beam. Workers, guide vanes and other parts of the hot tract of gas turbine engines are operated at elevated temperatures, pressures and speeds. Significantly increase the life of such parts by applying heat-resistant coatings that protect the surface from high-temperature oxidation, erosion, and softening of the base material. The plasma coating consists of an intermetallic (β-phase) compound. A pulsed-periodic laser with pulse energy E = 5, 10, 15, and 30 J was used for thermal heating. Upon heating, surface melting of the fusible phases occurred and the integrity of the surface layer of the coating was violated. By changing the parameters of laser radiation, it is possible to carry out express diagnostics and comparative tests of coatings, as well as to predict their behavior in extreme conditions.