The most popular weapon of science fiction films, without a doubt, is a laser blaster. The military has been looking at lasers for many decades with lust, but with their practical use it is still not very good. There are already stationary laser systems capable of shooting down enemy drones or missiles, but until recently, the generals could only dream of hand weapons.
However, recently the Chinese edition of the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese scientists were able to create a handheld laser rifle, which will soon be adopted by the PLA. The weapon received the designation ZKZM-500. The article even has a photo of a new weapon, on which you can see a rather angular product with two handles, a telescopic sight, and a short corrugated barrel.
Journalists report that the ZKZM-500 is an assault rifle, which in this case belongs to non-lethal weapons. How to combine these two characteristics is not clear. The weight of the weapon will be about 3 kg, it will be powered by a lithium battery, the energy reserve of which will be enough to produce 1 thousand shots. Moreover, the duration of each laser pulse will be at least 2 seconds. Rifle shooting range - 800 meters. The undoubted advantage of the ZKZM-500 is the lack of recoil and the sound of a shot.
The energy beam of the rifle will be invisible, it will be able to pass through the glass, and getting on the skin, charring it, causing severe pain. In addition, manufacturers claim that with the help of such a rifle it will be possible to set fire to combustible materials in containers.
Even the price of a new weapon is known: it will be about 15 thousand dollars. First of all, they are planning to equip the anti-terrorist units of the PRC with a rifle.
It should be recognized that this message causes some skepticism. First of all, the power of the battery is incomprehensible, which, despite its small size, is capable of feeding this very destructive weapon. Of no less interest is the method of cooling such a rifle, because without a separate cooling system, such a weapon must certainly melt.
