The PHASR (Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response) rifle is a prototype non-lethal laser dazzler developed by the U.S. Department of Defense at Kirtland Air Force Base, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate in New Mexico. It uses a low-intensity laser and a two-wavelength laser 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, which the United States acceded to on January, 21 2009. Continue reading for a detailed look at the MQ 9 Reaper Drone.
The MQ-9 is a larger, heavier, and more capable aircraft than the earlier MQ-1 Predator; it can be controlled by the same ground systems used to control MQ-1s. The Reaper has a 950-shaft-horsepower (712 kW) turboprop engine, far more powerful than the Predator’s 115 hp (86 kW) piston engine. The power increase allows the Reaper to carry 15 times more ordnance payload and cruise at almost three times the speed of the MQ-1. The aircraft is monitored and controlled by aircrew in the Ground Control Station (GCS), including weapons employment.
