On Sat, 18 Aug 2018 16:57:21 -0700, Stormin' Norman
<norman@schwarzkopf.in.memorium> wrote:
>On 18 Aug 2018 10:42:57 -0700, Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
>wrote:
>
>>more at
>>http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/laser-beam-attacks-bedevil-us-military-pilots-in-mideast/ar-BBM4G0r?li=BBnb7Kz
>>
>>laser pointers at a growing rate, imperiling aircrews and reflecting a problem
>>more widespread and longstanding than the Pentagon has previously acknowledged.
>>
>>American pilots operating in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the three most
>>prominent conflict zones for American troops, experienced most of the more than
>>350 lasing incidents reported over the last seven months by aircrews operating
>>across the Middle East, officials at U.S. Air Forces Central Command in Qatar
>>said.
>>
>>That is a significant increase from the approximately 400 lasing incidents
>>reported for the region during all of 2017, according to officials, and marks an
>>upswing after a decline in recent years.
>>
>>Lasing attacks appear to be an easy way for enemy combatants to harass and try
>>to distract military pilots, both in planes and helicopters.
>>
>>The rate of lasing incidents so far this year is on track to top the roughly 600
>>incidents reported in 2016 and match 2015, when there were a total of about 700
>>incidents in the Middle East, according to officials. The numbers of lasing
>>incidents had not been previously disclosed.
>>
>>The Pentagon earlier this year acknowledged a spate of attacks in two other
>>regions. Several incidents occurred in and around an American base in Djibouti
>>in east Africa, where laser beams appeared to come from a nearby Chinese base. A
>>handful of incidents took place in the East China Sea, where U.S. pilots were
>>hit by laser beams that may have come from Chinese personnel or from fishermen
>>operating in the area, according to U.S. military officials. China has denied
>>involvement in the incidents.
>>
>>Those incidents accounted for comparatively fewer attacks than in the Middle
>>East. The number of incidents may be related to the frequency of U.S. military
>>aircraft operations, officials said. Flight operations against Islamic State in
>>Iraq and Syria and against the Taliban in Afghanistan have grown more intense in
>>recent years.
>>
>>Hostile forces typically point small, hand-held lasers at pilots in flight,
>>especially during landings when they are most visible from the ground, in an
>>attempt to distract them, officials said. Such lasing could result in an
>>lasing. It is unknown how coordinated or organized the attacks are: officials
>>declined to discuss specific details about the perpetrators.
>>
>>
>>
>>more at
>>http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/laser-beam-attacks-bedevil-us-military-pilots-in-mideast/ar-BBM4G0r?li=BBnb7Kz
>>
>>
>>
>It would seem a simple matter to put a laser glare protection coating
>on the inside of windscreens, not terribly expensive either.
>
>It would cost a bit more to create some kind relatively inexpensive
>laser guided munition, not a missile, maybe just a smart round of some
>kind that could convey the aviators best regards to the laser
>operator. Maybe something with a 20mm diameter.......
The nice thing about lasers is their very narrow spectral bandwidth
output. Making filters to block one or more common wavelengths is a
bit spendy, but available. Not so different from the specialty
filters used in astrophotography. Something that could be easily
flipped up in front of the pihot or as part of their eyewear during
landing phase.
They can get - er, pointers from the police on tracking perps:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=police+helicopter+busts+laser
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