2 Japan GSDF Choppers Targeted with Lasers
Two helicopters of Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) were hit by laser beams over Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the GSDF has said on Thursday (December 18).
- Two Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) helicopters were targeted by ground-based laser beams on consecutive days over Shizuoka Prefecture.
- The incidents involved a CH-47JA transport helicopter on Tuesday and a UH-1J utility helicopter on Wednesday.
- No damage to the aircraft or injuries to the crew members were reported as a result of the laser strikes.
- The GSDF has reported the cases to local police, but it remains undetermined if the two incidents are related.
There was no damage to the helicopters or injuries to crew members on board, according to the GSDF.
The sites from where the lasers were directed are close to each other.
A CH-47JA large transport helicopter belonging to the GSDF's 1st Helicopter Brigade, based in the city of Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, was intermittently targeted with a green laser emitted from a site on the ground in the Shizuoka city of Mishima over a duration of about 10 minutes around 8pm Tuesday while the aircraft was conducting a drill over the neighboring Shizuoka city of Susono, the GSDF said.
The GSDF reported the cases to the Shizuoka prefectural police department, an official said, while noting, "We cannot determine whether the two incidents were related, including whether the laser beams were shone from the same device."
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
