"Laser blinding weapons in scenarios?" Topic

Has anyone used laser blinding weapons in scenarios? I wasn't aware of these weapons until recently. I wonder if anyone has worked out rules for their use in games.

From what I read, which is limited, they were used to blind sensor operators; artillery op, tank gunner, etc.

No, but there are rules for them in the Falklands Harpoon supplement, for attempting to blind Argentinian pilots.

Apparently, these were fitted onto the wings of the bridge on a few escort vessels.

Since the Argentinians attacked with surprise, from very low level, I doubt the system had much time to be tested, but would be interested in hearing more on the subject.

I have also heard rumors of anti-laser sunglasses being developed (not sure if they have been issued or not yet, to anyone).

Top Gun Ace: "I have also heard rumors of anti-laser sunglasses being developed (not sure if they have been issued or not yet, to anyone)."

Various types of protective eyewear exist for laser users. They are largely designed to protect a person from a momentary strike. For example, they are designed to protect burning a hole in your retina if you glance into laser beam or receive a direct reflection of a laser beam, but they won't protect against staring into a laser beam.

Wikipedia has an article on "laser safety" which is mostly accurate and informative (but a bit dry). It describes how laser blinding occurs and includes a brief discussion of laser safety eyewear.

The difficulty in designing laser protective eyewear for military pilots, artillery observers, and so on is the lenses used are designed to filter specific wavelengths and to provide a specific attenuation (cut transmitted beam power density by half, by quarter, by tenths, and so on). Unless you know the specific type of lasers being used (as in are they are all of the same wavelength), your laser safety eyewear may not be very protective.

The US uses a laser tuned to refract on windshield glass. All the driver can see in his windshield is a harmless but entirely obscuring green glow, which normally causes immediate use of the brakes. It saves a lot of lives in areas where suicide car bombs are a problem – a bomber can't aim, and a preoccupied commuter doesn't attempt to drive past any "stop here until waved forward or be shot" lines.

I believe Allen summed up the prevalent tactics on another thread. Something along the lines of after having been blinded by the laser in one eye, use the other eye.

Note that the US version is specifically eye-safe, as opposed to what happens when you take a different beam frequency/intensity.

There was a low-power dazzling laser in development that they had to retune to not permanently blind people (which would be a violation of the Geneva Conventions). This version used a low-power pulse to get information on how hard to pulse the dazzle. It pulses just hard enough to keep you from seeing much of anything for about 5 minutes, instead of frying the retina entirely (which the laser is perfectly capable of doing).

Frankly, you don't even need a laser to dazzle someone, my Surefire 6P flashlight will leave you seeing spots even indoors under fluorescent lights, and will leave you unable to see for a few minutes if you shine it in someone's eyes at night. too bad the surefire eats batteries, but the LED version is much better on battery life. Other advantage of the basic searchlight: It gets *both* eyes, not just one like a laser.

>Frankly, you don't even need a laser to dazzle someone

It creates a casualty for the enemy medical treatment to deal with. It effectively takes a trained professional out of the line. I'm sure the Sovs still have permanently blinding weapons in their inventory.

I'm not advocating going against the UN convention. Just giving a reason why some forces might want to blind someone.

So does a big enough searchlight, and it *can* permanently blind people.

As far as game effects go, the Ambush Alley rules for breaching into buildings seem to work pretty well, since either you're blasting a hole into the building or tossing a couple flashbangs through the window right before you enter:

Roll firepower as an attack against the building, and if you beat the armor, then the unit inside gets hit by the same attack before you resolve the assault.