HRWatch Denounces New US Blinding Laser Weapons
Rich Winkel
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: MAY 21, 1995, 6:30pm EDT
For further information: Stephen Goose (202) 371-6592 (Washington, DC)
William Arkin (802) 457-3426 (Vermont)
Susan Osnos (212) 972-8400 (New York)
Ann Peters (44)(171)713-1995 (London)
Human Rights Watch Reveals 10 U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons
Calls for Ban
The Human Rights Watch Arms Project has for the first time publicly
identified and provided details on ten different U.S. blinding laser
weapon programs. They are code-named: Laser Countermeasure System
(LCMS), Saber 203, Stingray, Outrider, Dazer, Cobra, Perseus, Coronet
Prince, Compass Hammer and Cameo Bluejay. It is expected that the
U.S. government will make a decision next month on whether to begin
full-scale production of the LCMS. It would be the first laser weapon
ever to enter full-scale production in the U.S., or, it is believed,
anywhere in the world. Other nations alleged to have laser weapon
programs include Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany, and Israel,
according to the Human Rights Watch Arms Project report released today,
entitled "U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons." Human Rights Watch believes
that blinding lasers are an excessively cruel weapon, and that the use
of blinding laser weapons is repugnant to the public conscience and
should therefore be banned. The existence of most of these programs is
not known to the American public or the U.S. Congress. In fact, the
programs are little known even within the U.S. military, and services
responsible for certain laser weapons seem unaware of the programs in
research and development in other services. Secrecy and lack of
oversight and coordination are the hallmarks of the "family" of U.S.
tactical laser weapons.
The purpose of all these weapons, as described by the military, is to
counter battlefield surveillance by disrupting optical and
electro-optical devices - from binoculars to gunner's sights to
infrared sensors. But it appears that all also function as blinding
antipersonnel weapons. Human Rights Watch is particularly concerned
that the U.S. is moving forward on development of laser weapons at a
time when the international community is considering restrictions or
prohibitions on such weapons as part of the Review Conference on the
1980 Conventional Weapons Convention, to be held in Vienna in
September.
Five of the U.S. tactical laser weapons are virtually fielded in
prototype form: the LCMS, Saber 203, Dazer, Stingray, and Outrider.
The LCMS, which is mounted on an M-16 rifle, fires a beam powerful
enough to burn out human retinas from up to 3,000 feet away. While the
U.S. Army envisions spending $80 million more to buy about 2,500 LCMS
weapons ($22 million has already been spent on development), it
admitted in April 1995 that "specific tactics and doctrine have yet to
be developed" for LCMS use. Human Rights Watch can provide a
photograph of the LCMS upon request.
Another secret laser weapon - the Saber 203 - was actually taken to
Somalia by the U.S. Marine Corps in early 1995. This weapon has not
been publicly identified previously. The Saber 203 program is
controlled by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for use in
"special missions." The Saber 203 is a laser grenade fired from a
40mm grenade launcher attached to an M- 16 rifle. The military
contends that it will "temporarily blind or impair the vision of enemy
soldiers."
USSOCOM also controls the Dazer program and possesses an unknown number
of prototypes. Dazer, another portable, rifle-like system, is perhaps
the most dangerous laser weapon. According to a USSOCOM fact sheet,
there are no approved safety procedures for Dazer. The weapon is
described as "highly dangerous to users," "hazardous to the eyes and
skin," and "at peak power...voltage is lethal." Dazer's battery life
is in excess of 1,000 shots, which may be fired single- shot or in a
burst of up to fifty shots per minute.
Stingray and Outrider, the least secret laser weapon systems, are
under active development, and await funding for full-scale production.
Two Stingray prototypes were deployed to Saudi Arabia, but not used, in
the Gulf War. The Stingray is mounted on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle,
the Outrider on a HMMWV ("Humvee") jeep-like vehicle.
Of the other five U.S. tactical laser weapon programs, Cobra, Coronet
Prince and Perseus are supposedly cancelled, but are still being
actively "marketed" by their developers and contractors, while the fate
of Compass Hammer and Cameo Bluejay is unknown.
This aggressive state of development of tactical laser weapons within
the U.S. military, which heretofore has been mostly shrouded in
secrecy, makes a ban on tactical laser weapons and on blinding as a
method of warfare more urgent now than ever before. The spread of
blinding lasers - to extremists, terrorists and guerrilla groups, as
well as many nations in conflict - is a very real likelihood,
especially if the systems perfected are small and portable. More than
twenty European nations are in favor of adding a protocol to the
Conventional Weapons Convention to ban these weapons, but the U.S.
government has thus far expressed opposition to the proposal. Senator
Patrick Leahy and Representative Lane Evans, who have taken the lead in
Congress in questioning U.S. laser weapon programs, have called on the
Clinton Administration to seek an international prohibition on the use
of laser weapons for the purpose of blinding.
Human Rights Watch's recommendations include:
The U.S. government should not approve full-scale production of the
Laser Countermeasure System (LCMS) when the decision is before it in
June 1995.
The United States should cancel all ongoing research and development of
tactical laser weapons because of their potential use as blinding
antipersonnel weapons. Existing prototypes of tactical laser weapon
systems should be destroyed.
All other nations, including Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom,
Germany, and Israel, should abandon any existing research and
development programs for tactical laser weapons and should destroy
existing prototypes.
The United States should review its policies, rules of engagement, and
doctrine with respect to laser weapons, and should adopt a firm
prohibition on the use of lasers for the purpose of blinding.
Nations which are parties to the 1980 Conventional Weapons Convention
should adopt a new protocol at the September 1995 Review Conference
which would prohibit blinding as a method of warfare and ban blinding
tactical laser weapons.
Copies of this report are available from the Publications Department,
Human Rights Watch, 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10017-6104. To
order a copy, please make your check payable in U.S. dollars to Human
Rights Watch in the amount of $3.60 (includes domestic shipping and
handling) or $4.50 (includes overseas shipping and handling).
Human Rights Watch Arms Project
Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in
1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally
recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East
and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords. It is supported by
contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It
accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. Kenneth Roth is
the executive director; Cynthia Brown is the program director; Holly J.
Burkhalter is the advocacy director; Ann S. Johnson is the development
director; Gara LaMarche is the associate director; Juan E. Mndez is
general counsel; Susan Osnos is the communications director; and
Derrick Wong is the finance and administration director. Robert L.
Bernstein is the chair of the board and Adrian W. DeWind is vice
chair. Its Arms Project was established in 1992 to monitor and prevent
arms transfers to governments or organizations that commit gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights and the rules of
war and to promote freedom of information regarding arms transfers
worldwide. Joost R. Hiltermann is the director; Stephen D. Goose is
the program director; Ann Peters is research associate; Kathleen A.
Bleakley and Ernst Jan Hogendoorn are research assistants; William M.
Arkin is consultant; Selamawit Demeke is associate.
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