F-15 Lakenheath crew 'disorientated' after laser targeting
 

Just seen this on the BBC news website.

There have been many reports of lasers directed at civil aircraft but I have not seen mention of a mil a/c being targeted with a laser before. :(

Think it probably goes on more than the military let on. Yeoviltons jungly Sea Kings were targeted during night flying at Merryfield in years past as I recall (or rather I heard it - concede it may have been gloss but that was the story I was told).
But if lasers are so effective I'm amazed more people aren't actually using them against our side in the many conflicts that abound...

The people who perpetrate these kind of ASSAULTS are complete and utter idiots. Whilst I appreciate the difficulty of catching and ultimately proving culpability ... If found guilty then punishment should involve a long custodial sentence IMHO.

That said (and I'm not going to provide an example URL), you have to wonder at the need for a private individual to want a 'Pointer' capable of producing a 6000mw/450nm Blue L@ser (a l@ser of this power can start burning things within a few seconds of beam contact). Which has an effective range of >5000m ... Cost c. £200 ... Far simpler to cut off the supply of such kit I would have thought.

Shame the F-15 couldn't do a spot of reverse L@ser Target Designation.

HS, works the same as tracer - both ways.

Serious issue I agree and the idiots need to be stopped. However, less seriously, if Lakenheath had the strobe approach lighting I recall from trying to land a Canberra there 50 years ago they would never have noticed the laser

ISTR back in the early 1980s Farnborough was investigating ways of protecting military aircrew against high-powered lasers.

A Hellfire back down the track could really ruin someone's day.

Innominate, we used to use a LTD and had protective googles for use when we might 'see' the laser reflection at certain ranges. Our laser was not in the visible spectrum.

The problem is when you are deliberately lased in a non-threatening environment.

Flasher
 

In Sandy Woodward's book 100 days he references that at least 1 frigate had a laser device called flasher that could temporarily blind Argentine pilots close in.

I assumed visors are like polarised welding visors that react instantly to certain wavelengths - but seems not

Lyneham Lad
 

It is sadly more common than you think and it's not just lasers that are a problem.

Ex Anglesey councillor in court charged with endangering RAF jet - Daily Post

BV

It seems that there was 'history' with Jack Jones:-
Businessman takes a pot shot at RAF 'Hooray Henrys' buzzing his estate at 400mph.

As the trial of Mr Jones has been halted, to resume in Jun 2016, I suggest that posters refrain from commenting further.

Lasing of mil aircraft is not uncommon, especially among the helicopter fraternity - some stations have a map of noted lasing incidents and each one is reported through ATC to the police.

As for Mr Jones - his use of the phrase 'Hooray Henry' gives you an insight into his English-hating nature - not untypical of the Viet Taff in N Wales.

A report suggests that a pair of spectacles have been developed which cuts out the harmful spectrum from a laser.

You can get civvie spectrum anti laser specs for day and night flying, pm me for more details.

Funny how I never met any of the renowned Viet Taff in my nine years service at Valley (spread between 1978 and 1999). I'm guessing they must have been the ones who instantly switched to speaking Welsh the moment you walked into a pub Crab? :ok:

ps I did encounter a few Hooray Henry's though!

A colleague on my Gnat course popped into a shop in Llangefni. His haircut and general demeanour marked him out as an RAF officer, so a few of the local viet taff switched into their druidic tongue and started discussing what they thought about their visitor, the RAF and England in general...

Mistake.

Chum came from South Wales and spoke fluent Welsh. So after a few minutes he went up to the counter to pay, thanked the ignorant oafs for providing him with some amusement and advised them that they wouldn't be welcome south of the Menai until they'd learned some manners!

Yes, a pre-deployment fit for several years ISTR.

I love it when people spout the myth about Welshies speaking Welsh only when an Englishhman walks in. I will admit that, when I arrived at Valley in 2002, I thought exactly the same (I am English through and through). Then I met and married a Welsh girl and I can assure you that they speak Welsh for no ones benefit but their own. It's their language you see. Would you say the same if you were in France and you heard the locals speaking French?!

The worst people in North Wales are all the visiting Scousers and Mancs but let's not go down that particular rabbit hole.

BV
(A semi-reformed racist!)

Do the guards at Lakenheath not carry M16s nowadays?
Maybe there's a case for developing a system whereby if an aircraft is 'designated' by a laser, it can fire a laser back at the original one.