{{Short description|American non-lethal laser dazzler prototype}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} thumb|200px|PHASR Rifle The '''personnel halting and stimulation response rifle''' ('''PHASR''') is a prototype non-lethal laser dazzler developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate, U.S. Department of Defense.<ref>Eva D. Blaylock (Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate Public Affairs). [https://www.af.mil/News/story/storyID/123012699/ New technology 'dazzles' aggressors], The Official Website of the U.S. Air Force, posted 2 November 2005</ref> Its purpose is 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 21 January 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unog.ch/__80256ee600585943.nsf/(httpPages)/3ce7cfc0aa4a7548c12571c00039cb0c?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=1%2C3%2C2#_Section1|title=United Nations Office at Geneva|publisher=unog.ch|accessdate=15 January 2009}}</ref> The PHASR rifle, a low-intensity laser, is not prohibited under this regulation, as the blinding effect is intended to be temporary. It also uses a two-wavelength laser.<ref>{{cite web |title=Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHaSR) |url=http://www.kirtland.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070404-043.pdf |website=Official United States Air Force Website |publisher=Air Force Research Laboratory, Office of Public Affairs |accessdate=21 October 2018 |ref=USAFFactSheet |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920034509/https://www.kirtland.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070404-043.pdf |archivedate=20 September 2009}}</ref> The PHASR was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate in New Mexico.
== See also == *Veiling-glare laser *Directed-energy weapon
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *[https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8275 US military sets laser PHASRs to stun] *[https://www.af.mil/News/story/storyID/123012699/ U.S. Air Force News Release] *[https://www.un.org/millennium/law/xxvi-18-19.htm Text of the UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons] *[http://untreaty.un.org/ENGLISH/bible/englishinternetbible/partI/chapterXXVI/treaty3.asp List of countries participating in the UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons] *[http://science.howstuffworks.com/laser-weapon4.htm How Laser Weapons Work], Science.howstuffworks.com
Category:Law enforcement equipment Category:Military lasers Category:Non-lethal weapons