Strobe devices have been used on Polish forces by Belarusian troops as they tore up a fence on the border between the countries last week. Strobe weapons, designed to daze or immobilise opponents with flashing light, have been developed since the second world war, but this appears to be their first use in a situation below the level of open warfare.
The incident occured after the European Union accused Belarus of encouraging thousands of migrants fleeing turmoil in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to come to Belarus and cross into Poland illegally. EU diplomat Josep Borrell says that these vulnerable people are being used in a disagreement with the EU that started after Belarus鈥檚 president Alexander Lukashenko cracked down on dissent following a disputed election last year. A humanitarian crisis looms as the migrants are trapped on the border in freezing conditions.
The strobes appear to have prevented Polish forces from seeing what was happening and intervening as Belarusian soldiers tore out fence posts. Russia, which supplies Belarus with military hardware, has developed a variety of LED-based strobe devices.
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While the US has concentrated on to target a single individual or vehicle, for checkpoints and similar situations, the Russian devices are intended for larger operations. The makers claim they have less danger of causing permanent eye damage than lasers.
The concept goes back to the (CDL) developed by the UK during the second world war, a strobing floodlight mounted on a tank to disorientate the enemy at night. In tests, defending gunners were unable to target a tank fitted with the CDL.
In 2019, the Russian navy unveiled the system fitted to a frigate, which was claimed to suppress vision up to 5 kilometres away. A for police forces was developed with a range of 500 metres and a beam spread of 10 to 15 degrees. In August, Ruselectronics, which makes the Filin, showed a portable LED strobing device called with a range of 100 metres.
The exact effects of such weapons remain contentious. Many have been developed over the years, and some claimed to disorientate people, cause them to vomit or even incapacitate them. A Russian military analyst stated last year that the Filin 鈥渕ay cause some hallucinatory symptoms鈥�. There is no published scientific evidence for any of the effects claimed.
, an analyst at security consultancy C/O Futures, says that Russia has been working on so-called psychotropic weapons, ones that can overwhelm the senses, for at least 20 years. Bunker notes that the Belarus forces also used green laser dazzlers in the border incident.
鈥淸This] represents grey-zone warfare because it goes beyond guns and bombs,鈥� says Bunker. Such devices give the Russians and their allies tools for exerting pressure without resorting to lethal weaponry. A similar situation arose when the US accused Chinese forces of targeting US military pilots with laser dazzlers in 2018, which China denied.
Last month, Wendell Leimbach, a US Marine Corp colonel who manages the Pentagon鈥檚 research effort on non-lethal weapons, warned that potential opponents might take the lead in this technology. The concern is that while they may be outmatched by lethal US firepower, opponents could win grey-zone conflicts with non-lethal devices like strobe dazzlers.
鈥淭he present laws of war are not designed to account for them,鈥� says Bunker.
