Lord Kennet askedHer Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider the use of lasers from space to be (a) safe; (b) lawful; and (c) if unlawful, under what provisions of international law; and
Whether it is lawful for laser weapons to be installed in aircraft (manned or unmanned) or on satellites with a view to use against targets within national airspace or on the ground; and
Whether, given that the United States is beginning development of laser weapons for deployment in Boeing 747 aircraft, they will take urgent steps within the appropriate international arms control bodies to develop controls over space-based and air-borne laser weapons.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)We have no reason to believe that laser weapons are any less safe than other, more traditional weapons.
Use of laser weapons is governed by the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons), which prohibits weapons which are specifically designed to cause permanent blindness. Thus laser weapons' design and not their deployment is restricted. Space-or-aircraft-based lasers not specifically designed to blind are not prohibited by international law.
Against that background, we have no plans to take further steps to control their use.