Posted on 03/01/2020 7:05:29 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The U.S. Navy has sent an apparent warning to China that it better stop harassing American service members, following an incident in which a Chinese warship aimed a military-grade laser at a Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane.
“You don’t want to play laser tag with us,” the Navy posted on its official Instagram account on Feb. 28.
The incident happened on Feb. 17 in international airspace over the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles west of Guam, a U.S. territory, according to the military.
“The laser, which was not visible to the naked eye, was captured by a sensor on board the P-8A. Weapons-grade lasers could potentially cause serious harm to aircrew and mariners, as well as ship and aircraft systems,” the Navy said in a Feb. 28 release, calling the incident “unsafe and unprofessional” on the part of the Chinese.
The Navy has also been increasingly arming its vessels with lasers—both destructive ones and so-called “dazzlers,” which can illuminate aircraft cockpits and blind pilots.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said in a Feb. 20 report that the Navy’s Optical Dazzling Interdictor, or ODIN laser weapon, was recently installed on the USS Dewey guided missile destroyer.
The new laser-based drone defense system is capable of tracking, disabling, and jamming the sensors of enemy drones, according to a Congressional Research Service report from December 2019, titled “Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile.”
While the Navy indicated it won’t be deterred from operating in the region, it isn’t clear whether the United States plans to engage in a tit-for-tat with the Chinese.
“U.S. Navy aircraft routinely fly in the Philippine Sea and have done so for many years. U.S. Navy aircraft and ships will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows,” the Navy said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
Funny....China seems to have some other problems to deal with these days.
Anyone have a screen cap of the Navy’s Instagram post? Don’t want to sign up and hunt for it.
Sometime a few years go a pilot was blinded in flight by a laser deliberately aimed into his eyes
2015
A pilot’s eye damaged by ‘military’ laser shone into cockpit at ...
www.theguardian.com › world › nov › ba-pilots-eye-damaged-by-mil...
Pilot temporarily blinded after man points laser at his eyes ...
Nov 23, 2015 - The pilot suffered a burned retina in his right eye and has not worked ...
////////////////////////////////
www.independent.co.uk › GO › News & Advice
Jan 24, 2020 - A pilot was temporarily blinded by a laser pointed directly at his eyes while he was ... The pilot was coming in to land at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in Florida on ... A laser pointer was found in Chapman’s pocket.
They can play laser tag and win. We got the technology. What’s a million Chinese?
Tell me again why we are buying from these bastards?
Nixon should have NEVER gone over and opened up this dumpster fire of a nation to trade and access to American technology & trade.
One of the great mistakes in American history.
Good question.
It wasn’t Nixon. It was Carter. Clinton and Loral. Bush 41 & 43.
We know many of the wavelengths used for military and other lasers. They can create lenses/films that can block them from eyes and even cover the entire flight windows with them. as most are not in the visible spectrum it won’t be a hindrance to regular visual viewing.
Pick your Enemies carefully
Bush 41 gave them permanent Most Favored Nation status 2 years after the Tienanmen Square massacre. That ensured they never had to live up to any standards yearly to do business here.
That's why I wished I'd voted for Perot, instead of Bush.
p
“Loral” I worked at Loral when that occurred. I left when I found out.
Really? I have a distinct memory of Nixon sitting down with Mao in Beijing...It was sort of a big deal back then...maybe there are different universes after all.
It was Nixon before Carter, acting to seek a counterweight to the Soviet Union. It was a bit before I was paying attention to politics, but I _think_ it was Kissinger’s idea. Or at least he passed it on from the cabal.
Don’t tug on Superman’s cape!
Either you are 15 years old, or you have NO knowledge of the gravity of this sort of incident.
Nixon is the President that opened the door to the Chinese.
He was trying to drive a wedge between the Russians and the Chinese. It (mostly) worked. What Bubba and Dubya did was insignificant to the actual opening of the door, though Loral was BRUTAL to national security.
The laser tag thing is really old too, but has a different player in the game now: look up the Russian ship Kapitan Man.
In 1997, a USN observer aboard a Canadian Forces helicopter and the helicopter pilot were hit by a ship based laser IN US WATERS.
This stuff has been going on for a LONG time.
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