![PHASR Rifle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/PHASR_Rifle.jpg)
The personnel halting and stimulation response rifle (PHASR) is a prototype
non-lethal laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
dazzler developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate, U.S.
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
. Its purpose is to temporarily disorient and blind a target. Blinding laser weapons have been tested in the past, but were banned under the 1995 UN
Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons
The Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, Protocol IV of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, was issued by the United Nations on 13 October 1995. It came into force on 30 July 1998. As of the end of April 2018, the protocol had been ...
, which the United States
acceded to on 21 January 2009. The PHASR rifle, a low-intensity laser, is not prohibited under this regulation, as the blinding effect is intended to be temporary. It also uses a two-wavelength laser. The PHASR was tested at
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy ...
, part of the
Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
.
Its name is likely derived from the fictional "
Phaser" of ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' lore, which is known for being depicted as an easily portable directed-energy weapon which has a lethal mode and a mode that can strike living targets with non-lethal temporarily incapacitating effects; this is often accompanied by the on-screen dialogue, "Set phasers to stun."
See also
*
Veiling-glare laser
The veiling-glare laser is a proposed laser dazzler, a non-lethal weapon which would use light in the ultraviolet (UV) range. The intended effect would be to cause fluorescence in the lens of the eye, producing intense glare and making clear visio ...
*
Directed-energy weapon
References
{{reflist
External links
US military sets laser PHASRs to stunU.S. Air Force News ReleaseList of countries participating in the UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons Science.howstuffworks.com
Law enforcement equipment
Military lasers
Non-lethal weapons