Dazzler (weapon)

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GLARE MOUT dazzler produced by B.E. Meyers & Co. GLARE MOUT- D532P-M 1 001.jpg
GLARE MOUT dazzler produced by B.E. Meyers & Co.

A dazzler is a non-lethal weapon which uses intense directed radiation to temporarily disorient its target with flash blindness. They can effectively deter further advances, regardless of language or cultural barriers, but can also be used for hailing and warning. [1] Targets can include electronic sensors as well as human vision. [2]

Contents

Initially developed for military use, non-military products are becoming available for use in law enforcement and security. [3] [4]

Design

Dazzlers emit infrared light against various electronic sensors and visible light against humans. They are intended not to cause long-term damage to eyes. The emitters are usually lasers, making what is termed a laser dazzler. Most of the contemporary systems can be carried by a person, and operate in either the red (a laser diode) or green (a diode-pumped solid-state laser, DPSS) areas of the electromagnetic spectrum. The green laser is chosen for its unique ability to react with the human eye. [5] Dazzlers maintain eye safety by producing diverging light that is less coherent (focused) than typical lasers. This produces a larger, less concentrated spot at greater distances which is easier to aim at longer distances and retains the desired effect on targets. [6]

History

Some searchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness, and they were used to dazzle the crews of bombers during World War II. Whirling Spray was a system of search lights fitted with rotating mirrors which was used to dazzle and confuse pilots attacking the Suez canal. [7] This was developed into the Canal Defence Light, a small mobile tank mounted system intended for use in the Rhine crossings. However, the system was mainly used as conventional searchlights.

Handgun or rifle-mounted lights may also be used to temporarily blind an opponent and are sometimes marketed for that purpose. In both cases the primary purpose is to illuminate the target and their use to disorient is secondary.

GLARE MOUT green laser dazzler mounted to an M240B during the Iraq War. Dazzler mounted on M-240B in Iraq.jpg
GLARE MOUT green laser dazzler mounted to an M240B during the Iraq War.

The first reported use of laser dazzlers in combat was possibly by the British, during the Falklands War of 1982, when they were reputedly fitted to various Royal Navy warships to hinder low-level Argentinian air attacks. [8] [9] However, Michael Heseltine, the UK's Secretary of State for Defence immediately after the conflict, stated that whilst the dazzlers had been deployed they were not used. [10]

At the end of Operation Desert Storm, F-15E crews observed the Iraqi military's massacre of Kurdish civilians at Chamchamal. The pilots were forbidden from firing on the Iraqi soldiers and instead used their lasers as dazzlers against the enemy helicopter pilots. This ultimately proved ineffective in crashing any attack helicopters. [11]

On 18 May 2006, the US military announced it was using laser dazzlers mounted on M4 rifles in troops in Iraq as a non-lethal way to stop drivers who fail to stop at checkpoints manned by American soldiers. [12] Other militaries have taken up use of them as well. [13]

Countermeasures

One defense against laser dazzlers are narrowband optical filters tuned to the frequency of the laser. To counter such defense, dazzlers can employ emitters using more than one wavelength, or tunable lasers with wider range of output. [14] Another defense is photochromic materials able to become opaque under high light energy densities. Nonlinear optics techniques are being investigated: e.g. vanadium-doped zinc telluride (V:ZnTe) can be used to form electro-optic power limiters able to selectively block the intense dazzler beam without affecting weaker light from an observed scene.

Legislation

JD-3 laser dazzler on Type 99A tank. The dazzler can be seen at the top-right, located behind the gunner thermal sight. ZTZ-99A tank front 20170902.jpg
JD-3 laser dazzler on Type 99A tank. The dazzler can be seen at the top-right, located behind the gunner thermal sight.

Weapons designed to cause permanent blindness are banned by the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Dazzlers intended to cause temporary blindness or disorientation fall outside this protocol.[ citation needed ]

Manufacturers and models

PHaSR, a United States dazzler-style weapon PHASR Rifle.jpg
PHaSR, a United States dazzler-style weapon

See also

Notes

  1. Rogoway, Tyler (26 July 2020). "Check Out This Sailor Holding A Laser Rifle Aboard The Nuclear Submarine USS Minnesota". The WarZone. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons". Human Rights Watch Report. May 1995. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022., Vol. 7, No. 5
  3. Mark Harris (27 May 2009). "US cops and military to get laser guns". Techradar.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  4. Chris Matyszczyk (23 July 2010). "Police to experiment with blinding 'Dazer Laser'?". CNET.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  5. 1 2 Kehoe, Jay D. (28 December 1998). "Laser dazzler for nonlethal force applications". Proceedings of the SPIE. 3575 (1998): 26–29. Bibcode:1998SPIE.3575...26K. doi:10.1117/12.335009. S2CID   110765877 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. Hecht, Jeff (1 April 2013). "PHOTONIC FRONTIERS: NONLETHAL LASERS: Nonlethal lasers deter attacks and warn away noncombatants". Laser Focus World. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. "Real Lives: Magic at War". Channel 4.
  8. "Type 22 frigates". Haze Gray & Underway website. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  9. "The Buzz 27 January 2003 - Man-made Bolts of Lightning". ABC Radio National. Abc.net.au. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  10. "UK deployed Falklands 'dazzle' laser, documents show". BBC News. August 2013.
  11. Davies (2005). "2". Desert Shield and Desert Storm. pp. 30–31.
  12. "NewsLibrary.com". Nl.newsbank.com. 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  13. Hambling, David (9 August 2010). "British Army uses laser dazzlers to save lives". Wired. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  14. Crane, David (17 January 2005). "New Laser Dazzler Technologies for Infantry Warfare, Counterinsurgency Ops, and LE Apps". Defense Review. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. 1 2 "GLARE HELIOS". B.E. Meyers & Co. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  16. 1 2 "GLARE RECOIL OCULAR INTERRUPTION SYSTEM". BE Meyers Advanced Photonics. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  17. "B.E. Meyers & Co Defense Catalog 2022". B.E. Meyers & Co. p. 50. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  18. "GLARE LA-9/P OCULAR INTERRUPTION SYSTEM". BE Meyers & Co. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  19. "GLARE MOUT". B.E. Meyers & Co. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  20. "GLARE MOUT Plus". B.E. Meyers & Co. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  21. Schmitt, Eric (February 15, 1995). "Now, to the Shores of Somalia with Beanbag Guns and Goo". New York Times.
  22. Hambling, David (15 January 2010). "Whaling Protesters Pioneer Non-Lethal Warfare". Wired, Danger Room.
  23. "Company Search: Irwin Desman". Parasitic Protocol Portfolio. Archived from the original on 2007-02-20.
  24. "dead link". Archived from the original on 2001-07-24.
  25. "dead link". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  26. "StunRay Non-Lethal Technology". Genesis-illumination.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-05.

References