The Feb. 17 Incident...
On February 17, an American P8-A Poseidon flew out of Okinawa on a routine mission to patrol international waters roughly 380 miles west of Guam.
On that patrol, the aircraft encountered a Chinese destroyer, the Hohhot. And as it did, it was struck by a military-grade laser that temporarily blinded the pilot.
It was an aggressive, reckless, and dangerous assault...
But hardly the first of its kind.
The fact is, China has been attacking U.S. forces with laser beams for years now.
They literally number in the thousands at this point.
Prior to the Feb. 17 incident, similar attacks had occurred in Djibouti, which is home to both U.S. and Chinese military bases.
That was in 2018 after a U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jet crashed at the country's international airport, and a CH-53 helicopter sustained "minor damage" while landing in Arta Beach.
At the time no one was sure what had caused the crashes. The Pentagon was predictably tight-lipped about them.
But when Chinese lasers injured the eyes of two pilots flying a C-130, the Department of Defense finally broke its silence and issued a formal complaint. It was then that the cause of the accidents became clear.
That's a serious step because laser weapons are a sensitive subject internationally.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit them from being used to target eyes because it can cause permanent damage. And both China and the U.S. are signatories to the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which prohibits the use of blinding laser weapons as a means or method of warfare.
China, however, isn't known for its strict adherence to international law.
So the attacks persist, with Beijing denying culpability even as new attacks occur — such as a May 2019 attack on Australian Navy helicopter pilots in the South China Sea.
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Furthermore, a 2015 report in the official Chinese military newspaper the PLA Daily noted that: "China has been updating its home-made blinding laser weapons in recent years to meet the needs of different combat operations."
“Radar [can be] overloaded, computers and terminals overheated, rendering command and control centers ineffective, guidance capability on missiles blinded or burned, satellites overloaded, cell phone towers destroyed, all by directed-energy systems.”
So you see, this isn't just about taking cheap shots at U.S. airmen.
It's about something much bigger. China is rapidly developing laser, or directed-energy, weapons to neutralize the U.S. military and undermine our society as a whole.
It has a whole plan about how to disable America's power and internet infrastructure with lasers, and to do so without being caught.
"Nobody will know where the attack came from," said one Chinese defense researcher. "It will look like an accident.”
Now, the United States is behind the eight ball.
Our laser capabilities lag far behind China's.
That's why a ton of money is suddenly pouring into laser-defense initiatives outlined in the Pentagon's budget.
The FY2019 funding bill included $317 million in directed-energy programs, with $150 million going to USAF programs focused on airbase air defense, precision attack, and aircraft self-protection. And last year, the Pentagon asked for another $235 million to advance laser weapons programs.
All told, research, development, test, and evaluation funding for laser weapons has increased 23% from 2017 levels to $91 billion.
And I've found the company that's in the best position to profit.
You see, there's only one firm in the Western world with laser technology capable of keeping pace with China's. That's why it's the go-to supplier for heavyweights like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
And this small supplier is about to see a huge increase in demand for its services.
That's why I'm encouraging readers to check out my full report here.
It tells you everything you need to know about China's diabolical plan, how the U.S. intends to counter, and the one small company that will be at the center of the response.
But you have to act now. There's not much time.
Fight on,
Jason Simpkins
Jason Simpkins is Assistant Managing Editor of the Outsider Club and Investment Director of Wall Street's Proving Ground, a financial advisory focused on security companies and defense contractors. For more on Jason, check out his editor's page.
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