The Pentagon has been dreaming of portable pain guns for as long as we can remember , and if it has its druthers, said fantasy could soon become a reality. The Thermal Laser System (or the IR-Lesslethal device, if you prefer) has been brewing since at least 2005, but just recently the weapon prove to testers that it could create a beam strong enough to cause alarm and pain without actually damaging the skin or retina. Think of it as a portable crowd controller (or your worst nightmare, either one). Of course, there’s still quite a bit of testing to get through before it’s actually rolled out for military or police use, and there’s the fact that leaving no marks leaves open the possibility for undocumentable abuse. Not like that would ever happen , though

We don’t hesitate to show excitement over non lethal and less-than-lethal weapons , but the reality is that they’re kinda scary. In particular when we’re starting to see hand-held heat weapons which leave little to no trace of ever being used. A long time ago we heard about the UK considering testing out some non lethal directed energy gear. Basically a beam-based weapon which would cause a burning sensation to discourage a victim (or attacker), but not actually damage skin or leave burn marks. This is what the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate , JNLWD, has been exploring since 2005.