The US Army is putting laser weapons to work, and officials say the safety rules are simple: don't look down the barrel

Directed-energy weapons have seen recent use at the US southern border.

US Department of Defense photo by Spc.

Adrianna Douglas US Army officials say laser weapons require surprisingly little protective gear.

Troops should stay at least 10 feet from targets and never look into the laser.

The Army wants lasers that work on different vehicles and can be learned in minutes.

US Army officials say the safety protocols for soldiers using lasers are surprisingly simple: don't stand too close to the target and don't look into the weapon.

Directed-energy weapons are seeing more operational use, particularly at the US southern border, where the Army has employed them against cartel-linked drones.

The service envisions these systems operating on different vehicles and being easy for soldiers to learn and use safely.

At the Association of the United States Army, or AUSA, convention last week in Washington, DC, officials and industry partners spoke on developments in directed-energy weapons.

Asked about personal protective equipment, or PPE, and any concerns about specular reflection from lasers, Kirk Williams, chief engineer of the Army's directed energy project office, said the rules were similar in some respects to those for other weapons.

"Well, the short and sweet of that answer is: unless you're within ten feet of the target, a specular reflection is eye-safe, so the soldiers don't need the eye protection from the laser," he said, explaining that "it's like any other weapons system: don't look into it." "We tell the soldiers the same thing about an M-16.

Don't look down the barrel.

Same thing with lasers, don't look down the barrel." Specular reflections occur when light bounces off a surface.

In the case of a laser weapon , reflected light can bounce off a targeted vehicle or drone.