Pew Pew! China releases "Laser Assault Rifle" with a range of ~1KM

[rcmaehl]

Sources:
CNET

SCMP

 

Quotes:

Quote

..a prototype laser assault rifle of similar dimensions to an AK-47, dubbed the ZKZM-500... From 800 metres (about half a mile) away or less, the rifle can burn through a target's clothes and skin and, if their clothes are flammable, set them on fire...  Despite that information, the weapon has been described as "non-lethal"

Quote

“The pain will be beyond endurance,” according to the researcher who had took part in the development and field testing of a prototype... It is now ready for mass production and the first units are likely to be given to anti-terrorism squads in the Chinese Armed Police... Because the laser has been tuned to an invisible frequency, and it produces absolutely no sound, “nobody will know where the attack came from. It will look like an accident,” The lasers cannot kill a target with a single shot, but if fired at a person for long enough the weapons would start to burn a hole in their body, cutting through them like a surgical knife.

 

My Thoughts:
 

We are truly entering a new era of warfare with multiple sci-fi like technologies coming to life. Despite this we'll need to watch how this progresses. With lasers like this one having no visible indicator of who is firing from where it would definitely cause a bit of chaos and confusion in the wrong hands.

[kelvinhall05]

That's scary.

[SammyG13]

I swear I got a virus just from all the ads on cnet

[McHox]

5 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

sounds like someone bought an irresponsible laser and attached a scope to it

great weekend project kek

[kelvinhall05]

6 hours ago, McHox said:

great weekend project kek

Next thing you know, you'll see the Chinese army at the front lines with Nerf guns that have needles on the tip of the darts.

[Drak3]

Meh. Suppress a 338 Lapua magnum rifle, and not only is it undetected at distance, but it'll go past 1KM, and kill instantly.

 

A welrod will do the same thing, hut if you're in the same room.

[wojtepanik]

laser weapon can't be used against human, as there can't be weapon that blind people permanently

[Kukielka]

Uhm, doesn't that new weapon stand in conflict with the geneva convention?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Certain_Conventional_Weapons#Protocol_IV:_Blinding_Laser_Weapons

[TacoSenpai]

7 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

"Sir! They're armed with industrial lasers! They'll blot out the sun with their beams! ^{wait that didn't make sense} YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN"

"... then we shall fight in the shade"

So will testudos become a thing now with mirror shields?

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, Kukielka said:

Uhm, doesn't that new weapon stand in conflict with the geneva convention?

Why should China care?

[Nicnac]

[Kukielka]

3 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Why should China care?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Convention_on_Certain_Conventional_Weapons

 

China signed all 5 Parts of the convention on September 14, 1981.

[Yellow-EyedData]

I wonder what the battery life on the gun is because I can't imagine you would get more than a few minutes of sustained fire from it.

[SolarNova]

"There are no rules in love and war"

 

I cant imagin those having great battery life, hence why it seems they are intended for anti terrorism scenerios.

[Nicnac]

honestly china could do all they want. They own like half the US' currency and almost everything in Europe business wise, especially Germany is too dumb to put in restrictions for foreign investors... And here we are being scared of Russia... pshhh

[rcmaehl]

1 minute ago, SolarNova said:

"There are no rules in love and war"

 

I cant imagin those having great battery life, hence why it seems they are intended for anti terrorism scenerios.

I'd imagine they'd take a bit to recharge. They're listed at 2 second "shots" but no where in the articles mention how often you can fire those shots.

[Drak3]

9 minutes ago, Kukielka said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Convention_on_Certain_Conventional_Weapons

 

China signed all 5 Parts of the convention on September 14, 1981.

Again, why should they care?

[Kukielka]

7 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

"do you know your weapons are blinding people?"

"what? they cut through meat. no one's forcing them to look"

 

alternative gag: they might as well look into supermassive positron cannons now

 

alternative gag x2:

*faraway screaming* "look away!"

"... wuht?"

"look away!"

"where is that coming fr

Genuinely hilarious, still scary.

[Kukielka]

2 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Again, why should they care?

You sure are fun at parties, arn't you?

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, Kukielka said:

You sure are fun at parties, arn't you?

So long as the (only slightly useful) Geneva Convention isn't brought up, yes.

[Kukielka]

4 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

So long as the (only slightly useful) Geneva Convention isn't brought up, yes.

So you don't consider the Geneva Convention to be useful?

[Cookybiscuit]

US has had this for decades.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, Kukielka said:

So you don't consider the Geneva Convention to be useful? Not even in the slightest?

It's only useful if you're a civilized country with traditionally western values.

 

The Middle East fails on the first stipulation, China the second.

[Doobeedoo]

Yeah definitely entering sci-fi reality lately with many different prototypes we tend to see in games. 

 

Maybe use a mirror against it hmm. 

[AlTech]

49 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

sounds like someone bought an irresponsible laser and attached a scope to it o_o

 

China is becoming the first order confirmed! Inb4 China launches Death Star-like structure in the atmosphere

 

/Joke