US Army Manual Calls for Laser Weapons for Warfare and Crowd Control
Laser, the newest and most powerful weapons in the 21st century, was found a new application in aiming: crowd control, which is added to the warfare. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Army is updating its plans for electronic warfare, calling for more use of high-powered microwaves, lasers and infrared beams to attack enemy targets and control angry crowds.
Crowd control is a constant challenge to law enforcement — how to stop potential troublemakers without endangering those who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The new manual, produced at Fort Leavenworth and set for release Thursday, also is aimed at protecting soldiers against remote-controlled roadside bombs and other nontraditional warfare used by increasingly sophisticated insurgents. Rubber bullets can kill, tear gas drifts with the wind.
The same devices can also be used as public address systems, projecting instructions or warnings at lower settings — and at higher settings, forcing crowds to disperse. The sonic devices could prove less deadly than so-called “non-lethal” weapons such as Tazers and pepper spray guns that have actually caused some fatalities.
The ease with which IEDs are built has a sparked urgency for the Army’s new effort. Also, developing the doctrine and training soldiers positions the Army to adapt to changing technologies and streamline its approach by reducing reliance on other branches, officials say. But is it unneccessory for them to put attention to the damage to human body in using?
Barry Watts, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, said the Army is smart to develop its own electronic warfare capabilities but questions how fast the service can get up to speed, “Especially when they have been out of it for a long time.”
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Tags: Application, crowd, laser, Weapon