‘Laser AK-47’? Chinese developer answers sceptics with videos of gun being tested
After questions were raised about whether scientists exaggerated claims about the weapon, company releases footage of it being fired at targets on a rooftop
The Chinese company behind a “laser AK-47” has released footage of the portable weapon being tested after media reports cast doubt on the claim that it can set fire to targets several hundred metres away.
They said it was powered by a rechargeable lithium battery pack similar to those found in smartphones and could fire more than 1,000 “shots”, each lasting no more than two seconds.
But sceptics have questioned whether the scientists exaggerated the weapon’s capabilities – with statements about it being able to “burn through clothes in a split second” from a distance – saying such technology remained in the realm of science fiction.
“Such a laser may prove incapable of even popping a balloon,” one report on industry news website TechCrunch said.
“There’s just no way that a laser powered by a lithium-ion battery that a person could carry would be capable of producing the kind of heat described at point-blank range, let alone at 800 metres,” it said.
A key criticism is that lasers scatter as they progress, making them weaker and weaker.