Despite their potential advantages, it seems that lasers are still rarely used in warfare.
The U.S. military has tested several anti-missile laser systems, but they are still experimental. While those lasers have had a pretty good track record, I don't think any of them have actually been deployed on the battlefield.
Another obvious use of lasers is the ability to blind enemy soldiers. During the Gulf War, some U.S. troops tried (unsuccessfully) to bring down attacking Iraqi aircraft by aiming lasers at them. This is no longer legal due to the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which was passed a few years later. However, just because there are "rules of war" doesn't mean people will abide by them. This is where guerilla warfare comes in. What really surprises me is that while we often hear of idiots aiming lasers at commercial aircraft, there have been no reports of, say, insurgents using lasers against U.S. military aircraft. (After all, photons are about 200,000 to 370,000 times faster than artillery.) Of course, that does not mean it has never happened, but the lack of news reports makes me believe otherwise. Incidentally, Wicked Lasers used to have a company policy against shipping lasers to Iraq, but I don't think this is any longer the case. (The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq might have had a very different outcome had it happened a few years later, though.)
Does anyone know if there have been any major cases in which lasers were used in combat?
The U.S. military has tested several anti-missile laser systems, but they are still experimental. While those lasers have had a pretty good track record, I don't think any of them have actually been deployed on the battlefield.
Another obvious use of lasers is the ability to blind enemy soldiers. During the Gulf War, some U.S. troops tried (unsuccessfully) to bring down attacking Iraqi aircraft by aiming lasers at them. This is no longer legal due to the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which was passed a few years later. However, just because there are "rules of war" doesn't mean people will abide by them. This is where guerilla warfare comes in. What really surprises me is that while we often hear of idiots aiming lasers at commercial aircraft, there have been no reports of, say, insurgents using lasers against U.S. military aircraft. (After all, photons are about 200,000 to 370,000 times faster than artillery.) Of course, that does not mean it has never happened, but the lack of news reports makes me believe otherwise. Incidentally, Wicked Lasers used to have a company policy against shipping lasers to Iraq, but I don't think this is any longer the case. (The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq might have had a very different outcome had it happened a few years later, though.)
Does anyone know if there have been any major cases in which lasers were used in combat?
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