chinese laser weapon development
- Thread starter maozedong
- Start date
RedMercury
Junior Member
We don't know one way or the other. But, historically, laser technology has been one strong point in Chinese research.
The bottleneck of weaponizing laser has been energy delivery and storage, rather that actualize the laser itself. Which Russians had a lead in ultra capacitors, but that's almost 20 years ago. Don't about the situation now though. (Btw, rail guns is limited by the same tech. and in some ways electric cars as well..)
Skywatcher
Captain
There's no way to know what the PLA is doing with lasers and railguns since all the research is highly classified and the Internet fanboys can't just go and walk into the Chinese equivalent of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to take pictures.
Your dreaming, right?
Chinese laser technology is advanaced, they began at same step. historically, laser technology is a strong point in China, some parts of technologies are advanced than U.S.A.
There are three types of Chinese laser weapons that are currently confirmed: a low power dazzler currently banned by the protocol on blinding weapons, the dazzler deployed on the Type 99, and the high energy laser responsible for the 2006 satellite blinding. All other rumors on the Chinese laser program should be treated as such until official confirmation.
Yes the chinese portable laser known as ZM-87 was banned by the UN protocol... I have this feeling that by banning this weapon it is more likely to be for export purposes only, but technology was there. So they could actually mass produce this type of weapon as and when the PLA needed them.
Quickie
Colonel
My understanding is that the ban was on the use of that type of laser weapon on the battlefield rather than the export of the weapon.
Yes... think about it this way... if you can't use this weapon on field... then why do you want to buy it? Therefore, if a ban was make on the weapon, then no countries would want to buy it and so it would not have any foreign application.
China is also abiding to the UN rules, so when UN ban such weapon usuage, then PLA will not purchase it. So without foreign and local orders... there will be no production.
I personally find the UN protocol a bit ridiculous. If low-power "blinding" lasers are not allowed, what about high power ones that are just as capable of being used as blinding lasers? I think the dazzler on the Type-99 got away with it because the PLA claimed that they were used to blind enemy tank sensors when it is perfectly capable of blinding infantry men as well.