'Weapons-Grade' Laser Fired By Chinese Naval Destroyer At US Recon Aircraft

The United States Pacific Fleet (PACFLEET) is claiming that a Chinese destroyer used a “weapons-grade laser” to zero in on a multi-mission maritime and reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Philippine Sea Thursday.

In a statement issued more than a week after the incident happened, PACFLEET said that a Chinese Naval ship lased a P-8A Poseidon that was flying roughly 380 miles from Guam.

The laser, which is invisible to naked eye, was detected by the aircraft's on-board sensors and appeared to be a part of the destroyer's “close-in weapons system,” a PACFLEET representative told Business Insider.

PACFLEET considered the action to be “unsafe and unprofessional” and was a direct violation of international codes and agreements, said the Associated Press.

Weapons-grade lasers, such as the one used by the Chinese, can cause serious hard to both personnel and aircraft, the Navy told the outlet.

Business Insider also pointed that the Chinese Naval ship may be a Type 052D Luyang III-class missile-guided destroyer.

Type 052D warships are general purpose destroyers with weapons that can deal with air, surface and underwater threats.

Around 7,000 U.S. forces occupy Guam and is under the Joint Region Marianas, a military command that combines the Anderson Air Force Base and the Naval Base Guam.

The U.S. military also refers to the territory as their “permanent aircraft carrier.”

The P-8A Poseidon is mainly used by the U.S. Navy to carry out anti-surface warfare, surveillance, intelligence and humanitarian response, among others.