[erm] space mirrors

i read in the latest Nature (v395 p833) that the russians are to deploy
a
2.5-metre mirror from the Mir space station; they claim it should be
visible from some northern cities as a moving spot with the brightess of
5
to 10 full moons. this is a proof-of-principle experiment, but i think
the
idea is that in future, bigger and more numerous mirrors will be
deployed
to supply light during power failures, rescue operations, etc.

now, the question i ask is, does this have any military applications? i
know we're getting very good at nightfighting, but if the force with
space
superiority is able to deploy these fellas, might it help them? what
about
shining the light onto suspected enemy positions - illuminate them and
overload their nightsights so they can't see you? how about as a
planetary
defence - put thousands of them (they're cheap, being made of silvered
plastic film) into low orbit, so when the high-tech attacker comes
rolling
over your planet, you can offset your lack of expensive night-vision
goggles with reflected light. they would have civilian uses too (light
during blackouts and disasters), and so the military use would just be a
nice spinoff.

just a random thought.

Tom