Yes, I would definitely call this "An illegal Weapon" ...

[dogtag]

If Militaries have to use jacketed bullets for humane reasons,
then I doubt this weapon (if story is true) could pass muster.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ople-FIRE.html

[TomSudz]

Some of the claims seem totally outlandish, but some of it sounds like some of the stuff developed here 20 or so years ago that make people feel like their skin is on fire. Developed for riot/crowd control, but was vehicle (and ship) mounted. Wonder if this is a much smaller version being hyped as a quantum leap forward? Not that China would do such a thing.

[Allen]

Looks more like an ammo can than an AK-47 but I want one. I believe we'll see a lot of advancements in lasers as time goes on.

[togor]

Title says it all, really.

Chinese military has built Star Wars-like laser-firing AK-47s capable of setting people on FIRE half a mile away, researchers claim

Why is 'fire' in all caps? Makes you wonder about the assumed mental capacity of their readership.

Anyways....with a laser, the beam intensity drops off with distance. So 1/10th the power at 500m than at 50m. And if anything close to the 2 sec aperture is required to deliver the necessary energy for effect, then good luck with running targets. No penetration capability either. Think about your wiggle area. Countermeasures? Smoke from burning tires or even tear gas will disperse the beam.

Doubt these become issue items anytime soon.

[JB White]

The funky looking photo of the 'prototype' shows the term SWAT (in English) on the shooters helmet. Sort of odd for a secret development in China. If they have a legit photo then why the amateurish "artists impression"?

The weapon weighs around the same as an AK-47 (three kilos, or 6.6lbs) and has a range of 800 metres (0.5 miles). It has a similar appearence to the rifles used by Stormtroopers in the Star Wars franchise

Star Wars? So it looks like the British Sterling then. The submitted article has all the earmarks of a students overactive imagination.