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Iran: U.S. ship and helicopter targeted by laser on Iranian merchant ship

A U.S. Navy destroyer and one of its helicopters, in international waters off the coast of Yemen, were targeted multiple times over four days by a laser on an Iranian merchant vessel. The laser harassment began July 5 and ended July 8 2015.

There were no reports of injuries or damage caused by the laser, so the Navy “believes it was not of industrial or military grade quality….” A Navy public affairs officer from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command called the Iranian use of the laser as “unsafe” and “unprofessional.”

From CNN and Stars and Stripes. Thanks to Greg Makhov for bringing this to our attention. Note: The U.S. Navy in November 2014 deployed the first laser weapon sent into trials on an active duty warship, the USS Ponce. Six commercial welding lasers are merged into a single beam of 30 kilowatts, that can be used against targets including Iranian gunboats, according to SlashGear.