China has a variety of blinding laser guns which violate the 1998 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons

China has BBQ-905 Laser Dazzler Weapons. China has been updating its home-made blinding laser weapons in recent years to meet the needs of different combat operations. Blinding laser weapons are primarily used to blind its targets with laser in short distance, or interfere and damage the laser and night vision equipment, etc.

China has many different types of laser guns, including the BBQ-905 Laser Dazzler Weapon, the WJG-2002 Laser Gun, the PY132A Blinding Laser Weapon, and the PY131A Blinding Laser Weapon.

BBQ905 laser gun

WJG-2002 Laser Gun

A State Department official expressed concerns that the weapons appear to violate a provision of the United Nations 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. The convention includes a 1998 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons banning their use in combat.

Jack Daly, a retired naval intelligence officer who suffered eye injuries in 1997 from a laser that was fired at his helicopter by a Russian intelligence-gathering ship near Port Angeles, Washington, said he is concerned the Chinese laser arms could end up in the United States.

“The U.S. already has a problem with laser pointers being directed at in flight aircraft,” Daly said. “If these laser guns make their way here, we are very likely to see aircrews actually blinded during flight and possibly worse.”