AMERICAN defence contractors are developing a laser weapon for fighter aircraft that may be powerful enough to blind people on the ground, even if they’re relatively far from the target, Â鶹´«Ã½ can reveal.
The 100-kilowatt infrared laser, which is being developed for the F35 Joint Strike Fighter by defence companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, is far more powerful than any laser ever used in war. But because it is designed to attack targets such as other fighter aircraft, ground vehicles and anti-aircraft batteries, it is exempt from the Geneva Convention’s ban on blinding weapons.
The ban came into force…
