Adazzler is anon-lethal weapon which uses intensedirected radiation to temporarily disorient its target withflash 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]
Initially developed for military use, non-military products are becoming available for use in law enforcement and security.[3][4]
Dazzlers emitinfrared light against various electronic sensors andvisible light against humans. They are intended not to cause long-term damage toeyes. The emitters are usuallylasers, making what is termed alaser dazzler. Most of the contemporary systems can be carried by a person, and operate in either the red (alaser diode) or green (adiode-pumped solid-state laser, DPSS) areas of theelectromagnetic 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]
Somesearchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness, and they were used to dazzle the crews of bombers duringWorld 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 theCanal Defence Light, a small mobile tank mounted system intended for use in theRhine 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 anM240B during theIraq War
At the end ofOperation Desert Storm,F-15E crews observed theIraqi military's massacre of Kurdish civilians atChamchamal. 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, theUS military announced it was using laser dazzlers mounted on M4 rifles introops 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]
One defense against laser dazzlers are narrowbandoptical filters tuned to the frequency of the laser. To counter such defence, dazzlers can employ emitters using more than onewavelength, ortunable lasers with wider range of output.[14] Another defense isphotochromic materials able to become opaque under high light energy densities.Nonlinear optics techniques are being investigated: e.g. vanadium-dopedzinc 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.
LE Systems, under the sponsorship ofDARPA, developed a dazzler based on aDPSS laser, with green light output at 532 nm, essentially a higher-intensity version of a greenlaser pointer. 532 nm light interacts with human eyes well in both daylight and reduced light conditions.[5]
B.E. Meyers & Co. produces several dazzlers, including the GLARE LA-9/P, GLARE MOUT, GLARE RECOIL LA-22/U, and GLARE HELIOS. The GLARE RECOIL and GLARE HELIOS dazzlers use built-in safety mechanisms to prevent eye damage by pairing the dazzler with a rangefinder; the dazzler will self-modulate power output with respect to range to target so the closer the target, the lower the output and the farther the target, the greater the output. As a result the maximum safe laser intensity output is used without risking ocular damage.[15][16][17] The older GLARE LA-9/P variant includes a rangefinder and an automatic cutoff failsafe but does not have automated modulation capability.[18] Effective range for the various GLARE dazzlers ranges from 400 m to 20+ km. Despite having the greatest effective range of 5 to 25+ km, the GLARE HELIOS is classified as an FDALaser safety#Class 1M eye-safe laser.[19][20][16][15]
TheDazer Laser Guardian,Dazer Laser Stealth, and "Dazer Laser Defender" by Laser Energetics, Inc. are different types of optical distraction laser systems which can temporarily visually impair, illuminate, target designate, warn and communicate visually with the intended target.[citation needed]
The Saber 203 dazzler is a grenade launcher based system. It is similar to theLANL-developed optical munition, Project Perseus. The dazzler is launched from a standard 40 mm grenade launcher and activated via a control switch to induce glare. TheUS Marine Corps brought Saber 203 dazzlers toSomalia in January 1995 duringOperation United Shield, but senior US Department of Defense officials reportedly halted its experimental use at the last minute for "humane reasons".[21] According to the Air Force, the Saber 203 system is also usable for law enforcement purposes.[2]
TheZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber is a Chinese electro-optic countermeasure laser device. It can blind enemy troops at up to 2 to 3 km (1 to 2 mi) range and temporarily blind them at up to 10 km (6 mi) range. This weapon is banned by the 1995United NationsProtocol on Blinding Laser Weapons.
ThePhotonic Disruptor, classified as athreat assessment laser (TALI), was developed and manufactured by Wicked Lasers in cooperation with Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems. This tactical laser is equipped with a versatile focus-adjustable collimating lens to compensate for range and power intensity when used at close range to incapacitate an attacker, at a distance to safely identify threats. The Photonic Disruptor has been featured on Discovery Channel's "Future Weapons." It was also reportedly used bySea Shepherd Conservation Society during their operations with theAdy Gil in theSouthern Ocean against Japanese whaling.[22]
TheOutfit DEC orLaser Dazzle Sight (LDS) is a British ship-based laser. Theveiling-glare laser usesultraviolet light and is designed to dazzle by causingfluorescence in the lens of thehuman eye. There are other such laser weapon systems in development.[2][23][24][25]
PHaSR, a United States dazzler-style weapon
StunRay is aless-lethal optical incapacitation effector developed by Genesis Illumination Inc. It usescollimated incoherent (non-laser) broad spectrumvisible andnear infrared light from a short-arc lamp to safely and temporarily impair vision, disorient and incapacitate aggressors for 5 seconds to 3 minutes without causing physical harm. Full recovery generally occurs in 10 to 20 minutes. The hand-held model is designed for a range of 10 to 100 m (30 to 300 ft). StunRay can be scaled up for ranges from 100 to 1,000 m (300 to 3,000 ft) for vehicle mounting, checkpoints, secure facilities, patrol boats, and ship protection.[26]
Three US Patents are held by Science & Engineering Associates (SEA) who is now QinetiQ North America. They are: 5,685,636 Eye Safe Laser Security Device; 6,007,218 Self-Contained Laser Illuminator Module; and 6,190,022 B1 Enhanced Non-Lethal Security Device.[citation needed]
Lisa A. Small, Blinding Laser Weapons: It is Time for the International Community to Take Off Its Blinders, onlineICLTD INC.
Louise Doswald-Beck, 30.06.1996, New Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, International Review of the Red Cross Nr. 312, S.272–299, onlineInternational Review of the Red Cross
Burrus M. Carnahan, Marjorie Robertson, The American Journal of International Law, The Protocol on "Blinding Laser Weapons": A New Direction for International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 90, Nr. 3 (Juli 1996), Pages 484–490.
Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, December 2006 Occasional Paper, No.1: The Early History of "Non-Lethal" Weapons, onlineUniversity of Bradford (PDF)
