FYI - WARFARE: The use of Laser Weapons used to blind the enemy is illegal. Their use is prohibited under the 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Weapons Law EncyclopediaWEAPONS LAW ENCYCLOPEDIA HOME » WEAPONS » BLINDING LASER WEAPONS Categories: Main injury or damage mechanism: Electromagnetic energy Blinding laser weapons are defined under international law as laser weapons 'specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices'. Their use is prohibited under the 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. The use in armed conflict and transfer (at any time) of blinding laser weapons are prohibited under the 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, CCW). For the purposes of the Protocol, blinding laser weapons are defined in Article 1 as weapons ‘specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices’. The Protocol also imposes precautionary obligations with respect to the use of laser systems, including laser weapons that do not fall within the ambit of Article 1. Preceding this prohibition, a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the then Soviet Union (USSR), the Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Military Activities, concluded in Moscow on 12 June 1989, defined the term ‘laser’ (Article I, paragraph 7) and required preventive measures to be taken during peacetime, to avoid using a laser in such a manner that its radiation could cause harm to personnel or damage to equipment of the armed forces of the other Party. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), state practice establishes the prohibition on the use of blinding laser weapons, as defined under Protocol IV to the CCW, as well as the use of laser weapons deliberately to blind a combatant, as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts. The use of laser weapons as a means of warfare, including laser weapons not covered by Article 1 of CCW Protocol IV, is governed by the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition on means and methods of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. Blinding is considered by many as a particularly abhorrent way of wounding. Blinding laser weapons have been cited in state practice as causing unnecessary suffering if used in certain, or all contexts. The use of laser systems in the vicinity of civilians also raises concerns about compliance with the general rules on distinction and on precautions in attacks. Juan de Fuca Strait incident In 1997, US Navy lieutenant, Daly, and Canadian forces pilot, captain Barnes, sustained eye injuries aboard a Canadian military helicopter during a routine maritime patrol over the Strait of Juan de Fuca (between Canada and the US). The helicopter was conducting surveillance of  the Russian merchant vessel ‘Kapitan Man’ suspected of espionage in US territorial waters. A US Department of Defence investigation concluded that Daly’s injury was consistent with exposure to a 'low level', repetitive pulsed, laser such as a rangefinder, but it could not determine its source. In 1999, the injured Daly spoke before the Congressional Committee of the 'agonizing chronic pain' and continuous deterioration of eyesight that he and Barnes were suffering from since the incident. In 2000, Daly brought a lawsuit in US district court against the shipping company partly owned by the Russian government (Jack Daly vs. the Far Eastern Shipping Company, 22 October 2002, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington). Last updated on: 08 August 2017 source - http://www.weaponslaw.org/weapons/blinding-laser-weapons