Application of laser technology to optical countermeasures

Abstract

Optical sensors of one form or another have been used on the battlefields for millennia in order to collect information about adversaries. Many techniques have been used throughout history to defeat these sensors. The original approaches tended to attempt to use the sun to dazzle the sensors. The development of laser technology has provided many opportunities to defeat a vast range of sensors operating in various wavebands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

This paper considers how laser technology may be used to defeat sensors. The high radiant intensity of laser emissions that are feasible from such devices enables various scales of phenomena to be generated in the sensors, ranging from temporary effects to permanent damage. These mechanisms are considered in this paper.

Keywords:

• LASER DAMAGE
• LASER DAZZLE
• LASER JAMMING
• LASER EFFECTS
• LASERS