Military testing lasers to warn stray aircraft

[comozo]

There are good lasers and there are bad lasers.
A week after the U.S. Department of Transportation urged pilots to immediately report incidents of lasers shining in their cockpits, the military is wrapping up...

Link: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lilase204120272jan20,0,4120761.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines

Ironic ain't it!

 

[PhotonWrangler]

It seems to be limited to the Washington D.C. and (maybe) NYC areas at the moment.

 

[DaFiend]

Do as i Say, Not as i do...........

 

[prescottrecorder]

As I understand it, the Government is trying to improve on the current procedure of flying out to a plane that's entered restricted airspace and dropping flares to warn it off. I don't see that a properly engineered laser based solution to a problem is at all the same as someone randomly shining lasers at airplanes. And it's not all that uncommon for the Government to restrict civilian use of technology. I can only drive my M1 tank in the middle of the night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Kiessling]

As this touches once again our currently hottest topic /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif ... please think first and post then ... in a reasonable and intelligent manner, and always with the red text on top of this page in mind. thanx.
bernhard

 

[PhotonWrangler]

We can only hope and assume that any such "warning laser" will have an optical power and duty cycle that's carefully chosen so as to not cause any injury to pilots. I can see how an alternating red/green flash would be distinctive enough to allow a pilot to immediately differentiate it from some yahoo trying to lase a plane with his/her pointer.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I'd think an alternating yellow/blue flashing would be more effective. Very few people have yellow or blue laser pointers, and even fewer (very, very, VERY few!) would happen to have both.

 

[Bengal]

Say Bye Bye to more of our "wisely" spent (cough cough) tax money.