Anti-piracy equipment dazzles defence fairAnti-piracy measures took centre stage at the world's largest defence fair Tuesday, with the unveiling of a laser to dazzle daz·zle v. daz·zled, daz·zling, daz·zles v.tr. 1. To dim the vision of, especially to blind with intense light. 2. potential attackers before they can get too close. Amid stepped up international efforts to halt piracy, in particular in the Gulf of Aden Noun 1. Gulf of Aden - arm of the Indian Ocean at the entrance to the Red Sea Indian Ocean - the 3rd largest ocean; bounded by Africa on the west, Asia on the north, Australia on the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean to the south , British defence firm BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. unveiled a new non-lethal system for commercial vessels A commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel (i.e. boat or ship) engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire. This would exclude pleasure craft that do not carry passengers for hire or warships. to help them spot and fend off attackers. It comprises a radar that enables the detection of ships up to 25 kilometres (15 miles) away -- current commercial systems have a range of up to about seven kilometres -- as well as 360-degree camera systems and early warning mechanisms. The aim is to identify dangerous vessels with enough time to call for help, but if they fail, ships under attack could use a high-powered, visible laser to effectively blind the pirates and stop them in their tracks. It would cause no lasting damage, but -- able to expand out to four metres wide, almost the size of a small boat -- would enable commercial vessel crews to deter any potential attackers without having to use weapons. "Piracy is on the rise," said Nick Stoppard, BAE Systems director of solutions development. "Attacks in 2008 were double those of the previous year and there is a clear need for better methods to help commercial ships identify and evade pirates before an attack occurs." Also on show at the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition were high-speed boats designed to combat piracy and illegal immigration "Illegal alien" and "Illegal aliens" redirect here. For other uses, see Illegal aliens (disambiguation). Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. , and a live demonstration of new technology to help stop suspect vessels. On the waterways The list of waterways is a link page for any river, canal, estuary or firth. International waterways
A warning message that can be translated into more than 40 languages -- and was demonstrated in Somali -- alerted the target ship, and military personnel wearing new, lightweight body shields approached before boarding. Further technology allowed any suspects on board to be photographed, with the images sent back to the mother ship for identification. 
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