Troops now using weapon mounted lasers.

The U.S. military has given troops in Iraq a laser device to temporarily blind drivers who ignore warnings at vehicle checkpoints, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, defended its use as legal and said the devices were intended to prevent civilians from being shot.

www.cnn.com...

What do people think of new toy? I'm not clued up enough on lasers to comment on whether or not this is a good thing or not. All i know is that even those little hand held laser pointers everyone can buy, there are more than enough warnings not to shine them in peoples eyes due to the damage they can cause.

www.medicinenet.com...

www.eschoolnews.com...

The dangers are clearly highlighted in the above links, but then again as the news item says, it's better than being shot.

Also, if they are rifle mounted, will this panic the driver when the soldier is only shining the laser at the driver but it looks like he'd taking aim to fire?

Whilst i'd like to think these are a usefull tool in the troops box, i can't help thinking these will have little effect on a non-compliant driver, or will just be used and abused by troops.

Anyway, i say good luck to the troops issued with this bit of kit, i know how hard it is to try and take out the driver of a vehicle aiming for you when they are virtually on top of you. Now try aiming a laser in thier eyes amid all that confusion!

CX.

How long before folks figure out a mirrored sunglass solution? Is that impossible? Sorts like "snow-blind" goggles tuned for laser discrimination. Hmmm. Hello Oakley? Yeah Hi, Ray-ban says they'll make 'em for "X" bucks. Would you consider making them for "X-" bucks. Perhaps not.

Thanx for the post CX I had no previous knowledge of this,

Victor K.

Well hmmm, think about that for a second.

This is being used to prevent CIVILIANS from being shot. If someone is using whatever to block the laser then obviously they are not harmless civilains, therefore they most likely will not heed the warnings to stop and will eventually make a timely departure from the realm of the living.

[edit on 5/18/2006 by PlausibleDeniability]

Yes as a matter of fact, there are "glasses" that have been developed for that exact use. I was reading about it that other day, along with personel issued lasers, for the same use as the vehicle mounted ones.

The first link has an image of the man portable version, that would be the DED link.
The second one, about DirEn, or DE being directed energy has links that mention "OCULAR EFFECTS OF MICROWAVE RADIATION & LASER EYE PROTECTION (LEP)", check it out good stuff. All of which I encourage should any one take me up on the u2u offer.


This could be a interesting research subject in the right project. If any one is interested in a Future Warfighter Research Project, feel free to u2u me.
Alright, CX you can have your thread back, it's all yours.

Thanx ADVISOR I was unaware of that and I find the "occular microwave" reference disturbing but not surprising from your welcome links. I am coming to believe that ATS is "the" source for such "elevated awareness"... most commendable and informative.

Respectfully,

Victor K.

Havent dazzler lasers been used against aircraft for some time? I thought I remember hearing about some tanks that have laser systems that can jam the enemy tanks optics

I know the chinese build a blinding laser called the ZM-87 which can be used against troops, vehicles, aircraft etc..


I wonder if the checkpoint lasers are similair to the Zues HMMV mounted laser?

found an interesting news item.

it seems to attest that exotic weapons including Lasers are utilized in WOT in Iraq

title:StarWars in Iraq a Reality?
written by Roberto Spiezio @ www.rainews24.it/

in the test he specifies
DEW=DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS
ABL=AIRBORNE LASER
HEL=HIGH ENERGY LASER
PEP=PULSED ENERGY PROJECTILE

ZEUS LASER= mounted on jeeps
PIKL=pulsed impulsed kill laser
ADT=active denial technology

~BUT, if you click the link at the bottom of page,
you'll be linked to the www.rainews24.it...
(which is in Italian ! )

So, you just click the right side menu box [videos]
and play a 24:55 video (in english) in microsoft media player streaming

titled: Fighting For The Airport: StarWars in Iraq

its life stuff that wouldn't get thru american censors...

**Take note at the 10:30 mark into the video,
at a press briefing with Sec. Rumsfeld & an 4* AF General,
the query was put about laser weapons in Iraq....
Rumsfeld bumbled & mumbled the the General clarified
the response: ""...they (laser technology) are in the early stages...
er, uh...They are not ready to be Employed...""

now, me being as familiar with defense jargon as you are,
the word Employed is not the same as Deployed...
the General in fact did evade the question with an 'apparent' answer,
but the numbed brain journalists didn't pick up on that evasion &
deliberate mis-speak!

tune in the links & video....thanks

St Udio, that was a very interesting and eye opening video Thanks for posting, and I would recommend everyone else watch it when you get a chance

Stream, or Potok in Russian, is a new portable laser weapon developed by the St. Petersburg Institute of Special Materials. Unlike all other laser weapons already known to the world, Stream can temporarily stun a human being without causing irreversible blindness or death.

"I guess you could call it a true technological breakthrough," said Arkady Khalyavitsky, one of the three inventors of Stream. "The most important thing is that the laser is non-lethal. To our knowledge, this is the first thing of this kind to be made in Russia or the world."

Weighing just 300 grams and around 15 centimeters long, Stream looks more like a pocket flashlight than a crowd-control weapon. In fact, it looks so ordinary that, at first glance, one would think it was just one of those laser pointers you can easily find down at Sennaya Ploshchad.

www.sptimes.ru...

This technology has been deployed on IFV's of various types for a very long time and it seems that at least one country is not at all behind the curve...

Stellar

[edit on 26-5-2006 by StellarX]

Basically if you get a red dot on you, then you stop. Period.

Ignore the dot at your own peril.

This is not a new thing, although it is just coming to light within the media.