Snipers in war are a huge threat. They not only eliminate especially important targets, but also have a terrible psychological impact on military personnel. All this is already more than enough to think about creating means of effectively countering the sniper threat. In the Soviet Union, a device was created for this under the abbreviation PAPV.
PAPV stands for "Portable automatic device of optical-electronic countermeasures." This strange-looking contraption has two main purposes. The first is the detection of enemy optical instruments. The second is the installation of interference on enemy equipment and devices.
The operation of the device is based on the use of a laser beam. The beam is directed over the area. When it hits an optical device, such as an optical sight, it is immediately reflected back into the APW. The equipment reads the fact of registration, after which it tries to determine whether there is also an aiming reticle on the detected optical lens. If there is one, then the frequency of the laser beam is significantly increased to hit the target.
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As a result, it affects the visual organs of a person who is behind an optical sight, and temporarily disables the latter. One single hit cannot leave a person disabled. However, temporary blindness to the shooter is guaranteed. Of course, PAPV-type equipment was created not only in the USSR, but also in other countries. It is noteworthy that all of them are prohibited for use by the Geneva Convention, as a weapon "causing unnecessary suffering to a person."
Of course, PAPV can be used not only to counter snipers. Such equipment is used against any optical sights, including artillery and tank ones. The Soviet device weighs 56 kg and consists of 2 parts. The PAPV calculation consists of two people. The laser weapon is powered by 27 V batteries and can be effective at a distance of 1.5 km.
In continuation of the topic, read about what they were Finnish snipers - "cuckoo" in the trees: true or myth.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/130122/61851/