US accuses China of pointing lasers at its pilots from Djibouti base

This was a popular strategy during the Egyptian uprisings recently. There are some very impressive pictures of helicopters blinded by hundreds of lasers from massive protest crowds.

I remember this being discussed often in the 1980s. Early concept art for Boeing's entry in the LHX helicopter program (which eventually became RAH-66 Comanche) showed a completely windowless cockpit, where the pilot would use a virtual-reality-style helmet in order to not be exposed to lasers. [1,2] Meanwhile, the soviet union was developing a laser tank! [3] Throughout the 1980s people were arguing for an international treaty banning blinding laser weapons, which eventually came into effect in 1998. [4]

I guess this may become an issue again now. U.S. navy ships are currently experimenting with laser weapons, and one of the stated uses is to blind UAV sensors. Using it to blind humans would be illegal, but presumably possible.

[1] https://youroker.livejournal.com/52416.html [2] https://i.imgur.com/GbGLTcg.jpg [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1K17_Szhatie [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_on_Blinding_Laser_Wea...

Helicopter can lay waste from several kilometers away, and it’s very hard to hit at that distance, being only a small dot in the sky.

Also drones.

But I can imagine someone rigging a contraption to aim automatically. That would be bad news for the choppper.

I think that depends on the willingness of the attack copter “to attack”. In this case they are not in a war, thus unwilling to escalate, in a war sitch, I’m sure they’d fire back. (Neutralize the source, in parlance).

If they are expecting it, there are glasses that they can wear to prevent the attack from being effective. Really bulky and uncomfortable to be wearing in peacetime though.

Yes, frankly. Blinding lasers are a pretty horrible threat that it’s hard to protect against. The only real way is to use cameras and screens as intermediary protection.

> Chinese dictatorship is panicking; it’s economy is en route to a crash

China is big. Population-wise, militarily and economically. Big economies don't quickly crash in regime-changing ways.

Absent incompetence, the elites will live well for a generation. After that the pattern, as most dictatorships, is familiar--a generation or two that leech amidst decline before a third or fourth which must make radical changes or be violently overthrown (e.g. through insurrection or invasion).

“Wake up to” May not be the right phrase when many of those things are the normal that many have known their whole lives.