Dazzler (weapon)

A dazzler is a type of a directed-energy weapon employing intense visible light, usually generated by a laser (laser dazzler). It is a non-lethal weapon intended to cause temporary blindness or disorientation. The first reported use of laser dazzlers in combat was by the British, during the Falklands War of 1982, when they were fitted to various Royal Navy warships in order to hinder low-level Argentinian air attacks. Blinding weapons are banned by 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Dazzlers are not intended to cause permanent blindness, therefore are thought to be able to skirt this regulation.

Narrowband optical filters tuned to the frequency of the laser used may provide a good defense against laser dazzlers. On the other hand, the dazzlers may employ lasers using more than one wavelength, or tunable lasers with wider range of output. Photochromic materials capable of becoming opaque under high light energy densities may provide protection as well. Non-linear optics techniques are being investigated as well; eg. vanadium-doped zinc telluride (ZnTe:V) can be used to construct electro-optic power limiters capable of selectively blocking the intense dazzler beam without affecting the weaker light from the observed scene.

Optionally they can operate in infrared when their targets are electronic sensors. Most of the contemporary systems are man-portable, and operate in either red (a semiconductor laser) or green (a DPSS laser) part of the spectrum.

Some searchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness and have been used to dazzle the crews of bombers during World War II. Handgun 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.

A recent introduction to the field is StunRay^TM a less-lethal optical incapacitation effector developed by Genesis Illumination Inc , that uses collimated incoherent (non-laser) broad spectrum visible and near infrared light from a short-arc lamp to temporarily impair vision, disorient and debilitates aggressors for 5-seconds to 3 minutes without causing physical harm. The effector beam is adjustable to allow use on individuals or groups.

Makes

LE Systems, under the sponsorship of DARPA, developed a dazzler based on a DPSS laser, with green light output at 532 nm, essentially a greater-intensity version of the green laser pointers. The advantage of 532 nm wavelength lies in its ability to interact with human eye in both daylight and reduced light conditions.

B.E Meyers is a world wide supplier, manufacturer, and systems integrator of electro-optical and other related products used for industrial, law enforcement and defense applications. Three separate products, the GLARE MOUT, the GBDIIIC and the GLARE-LRP, have been developed by B.E. Meyers to provide a non-lethal deterrent weapon which temporarily interferes with a suspect's vision without causing any ocular damage.

While the GLARE MOUTs effective range is 150m-2km for short range use, the GBDIIIC and the GLARE-LRP will take care of long range needs with an effective range of 300m-4km

Reports confirm that the GLARE has saved numerous lives of both soldiers and non-combatants in Iraq and Afghanistan by communicating a universal warning, requiring individuals to stop and establish their intent. The GLARE is compact, light weight, ultra rugged, waterproof up to 20 meters, weapons integratable, and can be used hand-held. With thousands of GLAREs in service, there have been no reports of failures to date. It is the smallest and most versatile green laser dazzler in existence, and is the only dazzler approved for use by all branches of the Armed Services, leaving the GLARE as the single most important Escalation of Force (EOF) tool.

The Saber 203 dazzler or "Saber 203 Grenade Shell Laser Intruder Countermeasure System", uses a 250 mW red laser diode, mounted in a hard plastic capsule in the shape of a standard 40 mm grenade, suitable for being loaded into a M203 grenade launcher. It has an effective range of 300 meters. It is controlled via a box snapped under the launcher, with the batteries and firing switch housed in this box. In emergency it can be quickly ejected and replaced with a grenade. It is similar to the LANL-developed optical munition, Project Perseus. Saber 203 dazzlers were used in Somalia in 1995 during Operation United Shield. According to the Air Force, the system is also usable for law enforcement purposes. Saber 203 was briefly referred to in one of the combat scenes in the novel "Politika," -- the first novel in the Power Plays series of novels.

The JD-3 laser dazzler is mounted on the Chinese Type 98 main battle tank. It is coupled with a laser radiation detector, and automatically aims for the enemy's illuminating laser designator, attempting to overwhelm its optical systems or blind the operator. The ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber is a Chinese electro-optic countermeasure laser device. It can blind enemy troops at up to 2 to 3 km range and temporarily blind them at up to 10 km range. See ZM-87 or this link for more information.

The PHaSR or Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response rifle was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense: The Outfit DEC or Laser Dazzle Sight (LDS) is a British ship-based laser, used since the 1980s. The veiling-glare laser works on ultraviolet and is designed to dazzle by causing fluorescence in the lens of the eye. There are other such laser weapon systems in development. See:-

• http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Us2.htm
• http://www.testdept.org.uk/PPP-9.html
• http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws001/abl/abl011.htm
• http://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/eo/eo12338.htm

StunRay^TM is a less-lethal optical incapacitation effector developed by Genesis Illumination Inc . a Nevada corporation, that uses collimated incoherent (non-laser) broad spectrum visible and near 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 recover generally occurs in 10-20 minutes. The hand-held model is designed for a range of 10m to 100m. StunRay™ can be scaled up for ranges from 100m to 1000m for vehicle mounting, checkpoints, secure facilities, patrol boats, and ship protection. Patent pending.

Use in Iraq

At the end of Operation Desert Storm, F-15E crews observing the Iraqi military's massacre of Kurdish civilians at Chamchamal were forbidden from firing on the attackers, but instead used their lasers as a dazzler weapon. This ultimately proved ineffective in crashing any attack helicopters.

On 18 May, 2006, the U.S. 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 American soldiers. However, this proposal has attracted criticism from human rights groups who say even these weapons can cause permanent damage

See also

• Flashbang
• Torch/Flashlight (sometimes used as an improvised weapon in a similar manner to a dazzler)
• Terra-3: alleged use of a Soviet dazzler against a Space Shuttle in 1984

Sources

• Lisa A. Small, Blinding Laser Weapons: It is Time for the International Community to Take Off Its Blinders, online ICLTD INC.
• Human Rights Watch Arms Project U.S.Blinding Laser Weapons
• Bill Hillaby, Directed Energy Weapons Development and Potential, aeronautics.ru
• http://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/eo/eo12338.htm
• Louise Doswald-Beck, 30.06.1996, New Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, International Review of the Red Cross Nr. 312, S.272–299, online International 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, online University of Bradford (PDF)

References