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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Indian Army to induct laser dazzlers against jihadis | ||
| 2007-08-19 | ||
| Soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] and the north-east will soon have a new weapon to help them take on militants -- portable non-lethal laser dazzlers that can stun and blind their opponents. "Two versions of the portable non-lethal dazzlers, including a hand-held laser dazzler, are set to be inducted into the Indian armed forces for use in counter-insurgency operations. This will make the 21st century soldier a technology-driven jawan," a top defence source told PTI. The laser dazzlers, which can be mounted on existing weapons used by the soldiers, were tested in Kashmir in October 2006 and will be inducted into the army possibly by 2008, sources said. They could be used against militants operating in the hinterland of Kashmir and against those infiltrating into the state across the Line of Control. The Defence Research and Development Organisation's Laser Science and Technology Centre in Delhi has developed two variants of the PNLD suitable for counter-insurgency operations. The hand-held and weapon-mounted versions of the PNLD have a maximum range of 50 meters and 500 meters respectively, the sources said. Both variants are completely non-lethal directed-energy weapons employing intense visible light and produce randomly a flickering green laser output that is sufficient to cause temporary blindness or disorientation. The dazzlers also have an in-built safety interlock to prevent misuse and the weapons do not cause permanent blindness, the sources said.
The weapon-mounted dazzler has an integrate daylight sight too. After trials of the dazzlers in the north-east and Kashmir, a memorandum of understanding was signed for manufacturing the systems for the army, the sources said. Under the MoU signed by the Defence Research Development Organisation with SDS Electronics Pvt Ltd of Panchkula, the transfer of technology for the two versions of the PNLD was completed in November 2006, the sources said. The laser dazzlers use "diode pumped solid state" lasers with a wavelength of 532 nm and weigh 850 g. Blinding weapons are banned by the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. As these dazzlers do not cause permanent blindness, they skirt this regulation, the sources said. On 18 May 2006, the US military announced it would issue dazzling lasers designed to be attached to M-4 rifles to troops in Iraq. This weapon is intended to provide a non-lethal way to stop drivers who fail to stop at checkpoints manned by US soldiers. However, this proposal attracted criticism from human rights groups, who said even these weapons can cause permanent damage.
The Chinese armed forces have fitted dazzlers to their Type 98 main battle tank to overwhelm the optical systems of enemy tanks. Chinese forces also use the ZM-87 portable laser disturber that can blind enemy troops at a range of up to two to three kilometres. | ||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #9 Zenster, A line of Masers would be handy. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-08-19 20:14 |
| #8 The dazzlers also have an in-built safety interlock to prevent misuse and the weapons do not cause permanent blindness, the sources said. Personally, I was hoping for a few more megawatts of beamline strength. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-19 19:29 |
| #7 The Pak army will equip the jihadis with googles for sure. They already provide frequency hopping radios and insulating gloves and tools for dealing with the electrified LOC fence. |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-08-19 17:04 |
| #6 The standard US military goggle set includes laser filter lens. While the media and NGOs are not paying attention to the ChiComs' use of blinding lasers, the US military has been. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-08-19 16:30 |
| #5 Chinese and North Koreans are especially bad about aiming blinding lasers at our pilots and satellites. BTW, highly illegal by international treaty, not that pieces of paper have ever deterred our enemies. Several have received permanent eye damage. So now visors have filters for the most likely laser wavelengths. If we ever go to war with China or their proxies, I expect massive use of blinding lasers and a lot of blinded infantrymen (e.g. Iran-Iraq war), less for the protected vehicle operators. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-08-19 15:45 |
| #4 "The goggles, they do nothing!" |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-08-19 15:03 |
| #3 Glad you noticed, N Guard. If the innovation is from the United States, then the NGOs are loud in their opposition to it, but there is not a peep when China or India implements it. It's not about What is done, but who is doing it. Supposedly, "monitoring" style NGOs bill themselves as opposed to "illegal" behavior, but THEIR demonstrated behavior is that they are opposed to the Uniteds States or Israel, and actually feel that such a stance is inherently fair and right. IMHO, after informing them, and the attending reporters, of such blatant bias at their NEXT dog-and-pony news conference, the NGO bastards should be shoved against a wall, the double barrels of a shotgun loaded with blanks shoved into their mouths all the way to the back their throat, and the trigger pulled. Messy, so hazmat suits are required, but no ricochet. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2007-08-19 14:12 |
| #2 Dazzle them, then plug them, sounds fair to me. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-08-19 13:59 |
| #1 Interesting-- I wonder why we havent heard the usual deafining whine from the usual suspects? Or has it been lost in the background noise? or is it not very effective, and therefore of no interest to the moonbats? |
| Posted by: N Guard 2007-08-19 13:58 |