China military uses laser on US ally’s aircraft: What to know

https://www.newsweek.com/china-laser-germany-nato-aircraft-eu-2095879

by OpenFinesse

40 comments

  1. Germany’s Foreign Office has accused the Chinese military of targeting one of its aircraft with a laser during a European Union (EU) operation.

    The aircraft was taking part in the EU’s Operation ASPIDES, a defensive maritime security operation to protect international shipping in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf against Houthi attacks.

    “Endangering German personnel & disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable,” the foreign office said in a July 8 post on X, formerly Twitter. “The Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Federal Foreign Office today.”

  4. “US ally”? Don’t they know that there are countries outside the US and that they have proper names?

  5. Newsweek writing “US ally” instead of Germany, so their readers give a fuck, is pretty funny.

  7. So Germany is no longer a relevant country, it is just “an ally of the USA”?

  9. I would have written NATO aircraft for maximum alarmist points.

  11. Laser, but what? Laser painted, e.g. target guidance? Or directed energy? Every source I see is vague on this.

  15. I always wondered when a country calls in a ambassador about something what exactly happens? Do they get to know what its about before, do they usually have information about the incident or do they just get a bunch of questions to take to the government

  16. The country’s name is Germany , not “US ally”

    These people are definitely prime candidates for r/ShitAmericansSay and r/USDefaultism

  18. Did not realize that you also posted this. But why use the “US ally” article?

    Reposted here:

    Anyone who believes Chinese bots who run rampant here, that the Chinese world is about love and peace and development, and that they, together with their Russian, Iranian, Houthi, Hamas, North Korean pals, have nothing against Europe or are not preparing for war against the West… are completely deluded.

    [UK ‘woefully’ unprepared for Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage, says report](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/15/uk-woefully-ill-protected-against-chinese-and-russian-undersea-cable-sabotage)

    >CSRI finds China and Russia may be coordinating ‘grey zone’ tactics against vulnerable western infrastructure

    >China and [Russia](https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) are stepping up sabotage operations targeting undersea cables and the UK is unprepared to meet the mounting threat, according to new analysis.

    >A report by the [China](https://www.theguardian.com/world/china) Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) analysed 12 incidents in which national authorities had investigated alleged undersea cable sabotage between January 2021 and April 2025. Of the 10 cases in which a suspect vessel was identified, eight were directly linked to China or Russia through flag-state registration or company ownership.

    [Swiss say foreign spying threat high, citing Russia and China](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/03/world/swiss-spying-russia-china/)

    >Geneva – 

    >The threat from espionage is high in Switzerland as global insecurity increases, with the main threats emanating from Russia and China, the country’s Federal Intelligence Service warned Wednesday.

    >”The security situation around Switzerland is deteriorating year by year,” the FIS said in its annual overview.

    [ Chinese ‘big ears’ suspected of spying on French satellites near Toulouse](https://www.intelligenceonline.com/government-intelligence/2025/06/11/chinese–big-ears–suspected-of-spying-on-french-satellites-near-toulouse,110464041-eve)

    >The secret antenna, Airbus and China (1/2) – French intelligence services suspect that a small Chinese telecommunications company set up a listening station near Airbus sites. While a judicial investigation has been opened, the case is also mobilising many French spies. Revelations. […]

  20. You can get away with it when it’s the Bundeswehr, they don’t fight back anyway. But if it had been, say, a Turkish aircraft, the Chinese would’ve turned it to dust within seconds. And then Winnie the Pooh himself would apologize to Erdoğan in person.

    A German Bundeswehr helicopter is fired at with flares by a Russian ship, and nothing happens. Russian drones have been flying over restricted Bundeswehr military bases for months, and still, nothing happens. What an embarrassing organization…

    In Germany, all they do is piss their pants. The Russians once entered Turkish airspace with a jet, and it was gone in no time. After that, not a single Russian aircraft violated Turkish airspace again.

  21. Has the PRC done that kind of stuff to any other nations recently?!?

  22. Just a wild guess, German Eurofighter Typhoon patrols region against piracy and attacks, so does Chinese Frigate. Frigate has radar contact with aircraft, Eurofighters aren’t stealthy, Chinese don’t have a visual yet but they are considering it could be an anti-ship drone or missile. They break norm for a ship and attempt radio contact. They are not received or they haven’t received a reply from Eurofighter. Instead of engaging anti-air missiles or whatever they fire up an active laser dazzle system or something on par to that.

    To some extent this could actually showcase that coordination among the armed forces trying to secure the Red Sea is paramount.

  25. “EU does military operation outside of their jurisdiction very far away from their own borders, to “secure global protection”, airplane gets zapped by China because they got too close. China is OVERSTEPPING their boundaries!!”

    Yeah. Yeah….

  28. Please please please can we ban newsweek I am so tired of their annoying clickbait.

  32. why not just say “Germany”? why are we referring to Germany as “US ally”?

  33. Not saying Germany in the headline is certainly a hot take. 

  34. I quite enjoy the fact that this shitty headline from a shitty website garners more comments than the actual content. Which I won’t bother to find out, screw clicking this crap.

    Newsweek is utter garbage.

  36. At least in my country this counts already as casus belli.

  37. Just had to make the title about the US didn’t they?

  38. Wait, someone let Germany have a military again!

  39. “Ally” would imply that the US would do something about it. We’re not allies with anyone except North Korea and Putin now.

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