A Chinese laser gun prototype can burn through human skin and set a person on fire if they are wearing flammable material, the South China Morning Post reported.
A researcher who took part in the development and field testing of the weapon at the Xian Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics said the weapon's laser can "burn through clothes in a split second.”
"The pain will be beyond endurance," the researcher said.
The ZKZM-500 Laser Assault Rifle will reportedly be given to anti-terrorism squads in the Chinese Armed Police.
The weapons is reportedly powerful enough to fire through windows at targets and temporarily disable kidnappers so hostages can be rescued or to burn through a gas tank to ignite the fuel.
The publication stated that institute is now looking for distribution partners. The weapon will sell for about $15,000.
Gizmodo reported the U.S. military has recently had some success using laser-firing cannons that are intended to be mounted on ships or trucks and can take down a drone by burning through its body.
The Morning Post pointed out that while there are no specific international protocols to regulate the development or use of this type of laser weapon, the United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, signed by more than 100 nations in 1980, prohibits the use of those that could cause permanent loss of eyesight.
The Chinese government currently classifies the ZKZM-500 as a "non-lethal weapon," suggesting that it is less likely to kill a living target than something explicitly designed to do so, such as a gun, the Morning Post said.
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