Photonics has assumed an important place in the military hardware and one can look forward to ever increasing applications in future. Over the years, high power laser have tremendously increased the potential of optical radiation for weapon systems. The challenges and opportunities provided by photonic technology in future wars cannot be overlooked. This book presents an integrated view of the present and potential applications of optical radiation including infrared in a war scenario. It is intended to serve as a treatise on the development of photonics-based weapons and instrumentation. In addition to summarizing the efforts of the last thirty years, suggestions for countermeasures and future trends have also been included. The book provides reference information relevant to scientific laboratories, training institutions and other organizations connected with development and use of weapons in war.

VV Rampal received his PhD in tunable laser from the University of Southamton, UK, as a Commonwealth scholar. He has taught at the University of Roorkee and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has over thirty years experience of working in the R&D of photonics and laser applied to Defence Instrumentation. As a senior scientist at DRDO laboratories at Dehradun, he worked in the development of laser-based instrumentation, experimental nonlinear optics and electronic imaging. He has also served as Adviser in the Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt of India. His applications, over a hundred including three books, cover the area of lasers and opto-electronics, fibre optics and nonlinear optics. He is a founder member of the Indian Laser Association.