British Engineers To Use Laser To Detract Pirates ‎

British engineers are planning a non lethal defense system that uses lasers to incapacitate ‎pirates by dazzling them as they approach a ship. The weapon is to be used on moving ‎targets more than a mile away. ‎

This development is in response to the growing threat from pirates to commercial vessels, ‎particularly off the coast of Somalia. The device carrying vessel would be lit in a bright ‎green glare from the laser, diverting the pirates off course and making it difficult to shoot ‎their weapons accurately. ‎

As the intensity of laser increases, it creates a big bright light that dominates everything ‎in the field of view. The device can be operated during night or day, by directing a ‎concentrated three foot wide beam of bright green light at a target which can temporarily ‎dazzle anyone who looks at it. The system is to be used in conjunction with a high ‎frequency surface radar that can pick up the kind of fast small vessels used by Somali ‎pirates. The laser operates within set safety limits to prevent mishaps and blindness. The laser, will have to be approved for use under the UN’s protocol on blinding laser ‎weapons before it can be deployed on ships.