Laser Show

No I am not talking about the laser shows that you see at concerts. Before I give you an idea about the topic that I am talking about in this article, let me brief you about a small country which is known for innovation. Yep I am talking about Israel, the mighty country which literally and metaphorically symbolises the story of 'David vs Goliath'. This country has a peculiar reputation for daring and innovation, and uses this strength to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies (which they have no shortness of). I for one is glad that we Indians showed them hospitality during their darkest times after which they consider us as very close allies (believe me you wouldn't want them as your enemies, just look at countries like Iran,Syria,Lebanon etc...).

While the majority of you would have read about the historic normalisation of relations between Israel and UAE which ceased long standing hostilities among them (that too in the backdrop of a pandemic really highlights the aspect of humanity and diplomacy), what caught my attention was a small news feed about DIRCM (Directional Infra-Red Counter-Measures) pods being mounted on passenger aircraft flying for the first time between Israel and UAE. Now this is why I implied that Israelis are unusually smart, they have correctly arrived at a conclusion that though the governments have advocated for peace there may be rogue elements within UAE who would love to take a potshot at a soft Israeli target such as a commercial airline.

Infrared guided missiles home-in on the radiation emitted by an aircraft to destroy it by either through pure kinetic energy (by smashing into the target) or by exploding near the intended object, peppering it with fragments. This type of guidance is a favoured mechanism in MANPADs (Man Portable Air Defence missiles which was infamously used to bring down Soviet aircraft in Afghanistan by firing on it from hilltops). Usually infrared guided missiles are evaded by dispensing flares from aircraft which are special materials that burn at very high temperatures on coming in contact with air (oxygen specifically). But this type of counter measure is very expensive as it is meant for one time use. Usually MANPADs are fired at fixed wing aircrafts when they are on ground or when they are taking off or landing as MANPADs can only engage targets at low altitudes. So dispensing flares at low altitudes can cause them to fall on civilian population and cause damages to life and property.

Lasers find a lot of application in military circles. One among them is it's use as a means to knock infrared guided missiles off-course. This is achieved by blinding the seeker of the missile or sometimes literally frying it's circuits by emitting flashes of high intensity and high powered laser beams onto the incoming missile which is tracked by the DIRCM system when it is launched. Using laser to evade such missiles have proven to be so successful and cost effective (it can be used multiple times) that it has been adopted for usage across tanks to warships. DIRCM systems are easy to incorporate on any platform and is easy to operate as it requires little to no human intervention unlike flares. Now though Israelis have extended an olive branch, they for sure have taken precautions just like always, mind it.