Where Chinese warship, in Australian waters, aimed laser at Australian aircraft.
(Map courtesy 7News Sunrise)
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At about 1am February 17, 2022 (Australian time) a Chinese/PRC warship, sailing within Australia’s exclusive economic zone, aggressively aimed a military-grade laser at an Australian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
Australia’s DoD condemned“the unprofessional and unsafe military conduct” by the Chinese ship.
All modern warships have lasers, mainly to determine a target's range, position and to electronically “designate” a target immediately before firing a weapon (be it machine-gun, larger naval cannon or missile). So using a laser against a manned aircraft is a hostile act.
Laser beams, especially military grade ones, are themselves dangerous because they can cause permanent blindness if shone into someone’s eyes. Lasers can also damage important navigational and other related systems critical to air safety. More commentary see.
Could this be the beginning of aggressive Chinese acts that will escalate after the Beijing Winter Olympics? Emperors for Life, Putin and Xi, had several coordinated tactics to discuss when they met in Beijing early February 2022.