Dazzling laser turned out to be more effective than warning light.
As practice shows, warning shots in the air is a waste of cartridges and a rather mediocre means for scaring off the enemy. In the US, they decided to replace the warning light with laser flashes. Now, American soldiers are able to inform passersby or potential suicide bombers that they are already in the gunshot weapons. It is planned to do this with the help of laser flashes from special attachments for weapons. In fact, we are talking about one of the varieties of non-lethal weapons of blinding action.
During the lengthy military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, American soldiers faced great difficulties in defending their roadblocks and bases. These points were the main targets for suicide attacks. Armed attacks on roadblocks became routine for the American contingent, as they were regular. In the event that the car driver refused to slow down in front of the roadblock or looked rather suspicious, the military personnel had to signal him with his hands, a flashlight, or open warning fire into the air.
Since the sound signals to the approaching road transport (warning shots into the air) proved to be extremely ineffective, the military decided to switch to a visual warning - laser flashes. The technology they officially used was called the Ocular Interruption System (OIS) - “Visual Interruption System”. Such devices can be mounted using automatic rifles M4, M16A4 or M27 using Picatinny rail.
These devices project onto the target a laser beam of glare-free light at a distance of up to 500 meters, which becomes brighter as the target approaches the beam source. Most of the laser flares operate at a wavelength of 532 nm, which gives bright green light in the range from 35 to 200 MW. From a technical point of view, such flashes do not cause permanent blindness in a person, but they temporarily blind and may disorient the driver. This may be uncomfortable, but much better than the lead in the windshield of the car. It is known that the US Army is going to acquire at least 1800-like devices that want to make part of the modular weapon sets of the American infantry.
In the US, great attention is paid to the development of laser non-lethal systems. Another program is called LROI (Long range Ocular Interruption). This is a long-range ocular intervention program. This program is managed by the US Navy. The system is designed to have a non-lethal reversible effect in the visible radiation spectrum, disabling enemy personnel. It can also be used to attract attention, prevent and subsequently suppress hostile citizens while defending various military installations.
Currently, the US Army, as well as the armies of some American allies, use various blinding devices, including lasers from BE Mayers. For example, a LA-9 / P laser with an output power equal to 250 MW. A special protective module is built into this device that turns off the laser at the moment when the blinding object is at the minimum allowable eye safe distance (NOHD) - at a distance from 0 to 65 meters from the device. At the same time, the LA-9 / P laser system is effective at a distance from 65 to 1000 meters. The company also developed the GLARE MOUT laser, which is distinguished by its smaller size and lower power - 125 MW. Its effective range is 18-760 meters, NOHD is equal to 18 meters.
Another American company, Thales, has created the GLOW (Green Laser Optical Warner) device, an optical warning device built on a green laser. This laser device is in service with the British and Dutch armies and is characterized by an adjustable beam (narrow or wide) and two modes of operation (continuous or pulsed). GLOW can be used as a separate device, and as an additional body kit for small arms, mounted on Picatinny rails.
The tactical advantage of such means of temporary blinding is quite high. They are used as the primary means of determining the type of threat, as well as a force projection tool. Their effectiveness is proved by statistics. Before the use of such devices (2005 year), the death rate at Iraqi checkpoints reached the 1 case per day, and after the deployment of the laser devices of the company BE Meyers fell to the 1 case per week. In the United States alone, the military bought about 36 thousands of such non-lethal lasers produced by BE Meyers. They are used at checkpoints and roadblocks, as well as for patrols and escorts. Can be installed on various ships. At the same time, the Glare MOUT and LA-9P Glare systems were sold to a number of European countries.
Soviet laser gun
In our country, non-lethal laser weapons were given attention in Soviet times. In 1984, the country implemented a unique project to create a fantastic weapon - a laser gun. This gun was created to arm Soviet cosmonauts and was developed as part of the ambitious program "Almaz". The gun was needed for arming the crews of the same name OPS - manned orbital stations, as well as DOS - long-term Salyut orbital stations. The main goal of the Soviet designers was to create compact weapons that could be used in space for disabling enemy optical systems.
As a source of optical pumping, pyrotechnic flashlights were used, which had sufficient energy and were also compact in size. The scheme of operation of such a pistol was reliable and simple: a pyrotechnic flash lamp repeated the ordinary cartridge of 10-mm caliber, which was placed from the store into the chamber, which was a lighting camera. Using an electric piezo pulse in the cartridge, a special mixture of metal salts and zirconium foil was ignited. The result was a very bright flash with a high temperature almost at 5000 K. This energy is absorbed by the optical elements of the gun, which are located behind the lighting chamber and then converted into a pulse.
As part of this project, a non-automatic 8-charging pistol was created, which was manually recharged. The striking ability of the laser beam reached 20 meters. The gun was designed for self-defense of the Soviet cosmonauts. Its striking effect was to disable the sensitive elements of optical systems, as well as the human eye. One of the most important advantages of weapons was the lack of recoil, which is very critical in conditions of being in weightlessness. Currently, this gun, along with a pyrotechnic flashlight can be seen in the Museum of the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces. Peter the Great, these objects were given the status of a monument of science and technology 1-th category.
Information sources:
http://gearmix.ru/archives/14520
https://marinecorpsconceptsandprograms.com/programs/fire-support/ocular-interruption-system-ois
http://www.arms-expo.ru/articles/129/59776/?sphrase_id=278404
http://subscribe.ru/group/pole-chudes/5923032
During the lengthy military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, American soldiers faced great difficulties in defending their roadblocks and bases. These points were the main targets for suicide attacks. Armed attacks on roadblocks became routine for the American contingent, as they were regular. In the event that the car driver refused to slow down in front of the roadblock or looked rather suspicious, the military personnel had to signal him with his hands, a flashlight, or open warning fire into the air.
Since the sound signals to the approaching road transport (warning shots into the air) proved to be extremely ineffective, the military decided to switch to a visual warning - laser flashes. The technology they officially used was called the Ocular Interruption System (OIS) - “Visual Interruption System”. Such devices can be mounted using automatic rifles M4, M16A4 or M27 using Picatinny rail.
These devices project onto the target a laser beam of glare-free light at a distance of up to 500 meters, which becomes brighter as the target approaches the beam source. Most of the laser flares operate at a wavelength of 532 nm, which gives bright green light in the range from 35 to 200 MW. From a technical point of view, such flashes do not cause permanent blindness in a person, but they temporarily blind and may disorient the driver. This may be uncomfortable, but much better than the lead in the windshield of the car. It is known that the US Army is going to acquire at least 1800-like devices that want to make part of the modular weapon sets of the American infantry.
In the US, great attention is paid to the development of laser non-lethal systems. Another program is called LROI (Long range Ocular Interruption). This is a long-range ocular intervention program. This program is managed by the US Navy. The system is designed to have a non-lethal reversible effect in the visible radiation spectrum, disabling enemy personnel. It can also be used to attract attention, prevent and subsequently suppress hostile citizens while defending various military installations.
Currently, the US Army, as well as the armies of some American allies, use various blinding devices, including lasers from BE Mayers. For example, a LA-9 / P laser with an output power equal to 250 MW. A special protective module is built into this device that turns off the laser at the moment when the blinding object is at the minimum allowable eye safe distance (NOHD) - at a distance from 0 to 65 meters from the device. At the same time, the LA-9 / P laser system is effective at a distance from 65 to 1000 meters. The company also developed the GLARE MOUT laser, which is distinguished by its smaller size and lower power - 125 MW. Its effective range is 18-760 meters, NOHD is equal to 18 meters.
Another American company, Thales, has created the GLOW (Green Laser Optical Warner) device, an optical warning device built on a green laser. This laser device is in service with the British and Dutch armies and is characterized by an adjustable beam (narrow or wide) and two modes of operation (continuous or pulsed). GLOW can be used as a separate device, and as an additional body kit for small arms, mounted on Picatinny rails.
The tactical advantage of such means of temporary blinding is quite high. They are used as the primary means of determining the type of threat, as well as a force projection tool. Their effectiveness is proved by statistics. Before the use of such devices (2005 year), the death rate at Iraqi checkpoints reached the 1 case per day, and after the deployment of the laser devices of the company BE Meyers fell to the 1 case per week. In the United States alone, the military bought about 36 thousands of such non-lethal lasers produced by BE Meyers. They are used at checkpoints and roadblocks, as well as for patrols and escorts. Can be installed on various ships. At the same time, the Glare MOUT and LA-9P Glare systems were sold to a number of European countries.
Soviet laser gun
In our country, non-lethal laser weapons were given attention in Soviet times. In 1984, the country implemented a unique project to create a fantastic weapon - a laser gun. This gun was created to arm Soviet cosmonauts and was developed as part of the ambitious program "Almaz". The gun was needed for arming the crews of the same name OPS - manned orbital stations, as well as DOS - long-term Salyut orbital stations. The main goal of the Soviet designers was to create compact weapons that could be used in space for disabling enemy optical systems.
As a source of optical pumping, pyrotechnic flashlights were used, which had sufficient energy and were also compact in size. The scheme of operation of such a pistol was reliable and simple: a pyrotechnic flash lamp repeated the ordinary cartridge of 10-mm caliber, which was placed from the store into the chamber, which was a lighting camera. Using an electric piezo pulse in the cartridge, a special mixture of metal salts and zirconium foil was ignited. The result was a very bright flash with a high temperature almost at 5000 K. This energy is absorbed by the optical elements of the gun, which are located behind the lighting chamber and then converted into a pulse.
As part of this project, a non-automatic 8-charging pistol was created, which was manually recharged. The striking ability of the laser beam reached 20 meters. The gun was designed for self-defense of the Soviet cosmonauts. Its striking effect was to disable the sensitive elements of optical systems, as well as the human eye. One of the most important advantages of weapons was the lack of recoil, which is very critical in conditions of being in weightlessness. Currently, this gun, along with a pyrotechnic flashlight can be seen in the Museum of the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces. Peter the Great, these objects were given the status of a monument of science and technology 1-th category.
Information sources:
http://gearmix.ru/archives/14520
https://marinecorpsconceptsandprograms.com/programs/fire-support/ocular-interruption-system-ois
http://www.arms-expo.ru/articles/129/59776/?sphrase_id=278404
http://subscribe.ru/group/pole-chudes/5923032
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