Update | Smog is China’s top defence against US laser weapons, says PLA Navy admiral

Watch: Zhang's interview on laser weapons

China's thick smog is the best defence against US laser weaponry, a PLA researcher said in a state television interview, after the American navy recently announced it was preparing to deploy its first laser weapon aboard a transport ship.

Navy Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a military expert at the National Defence University, said on CCTV's Haixia Liangan (Cross-Straits) current affairs programme last week that the lasers were "most afraid of smog".

"Under conditions where there is no smog, a laser weapon can fire [at a range of] 10 kilometres. When there's smog, it's only one kilometre. What's the point of making this kind of weapon?" he asked.

Echoing previous claims by state media that air pollution had an upside when it came to defence, Zhang explained that smog was made up of tiny metallic particulates - and the higher their PM number (the particles' diameter in micrometres), the harder it would be for lasers to penetrate.