The MARAUDER (Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultra-high Directed-Energy and Radiation) used the Shiva Star project (a high energy capacitor bank which provided the means to test weapons and other devices requiring brief and extremely large amounts of energy) to accelerate a toroid of plasma at a significant percentage of the speed of light. PRISM Vol. While centuries of technological advances have improved the power of these materials, the basic operating principle of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same. Examples include damaging individual components, circuit cards, or the mother boards in a desktop computer. In early versions of laser weapons, the light was generated by chemical reactions. In the weapons version, the microwave energy effects or lethality depends on the power and range to target, but the energy beams tend to be larger and not as sensitive to jitter as is the case for the high energy lasers. In the 1970s and '80s it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative'[73] forces. DE weapons include high-energy lasers, high-power radio frequency or microwave devices, and charged or neutral particle beam weapons.2 Microwaves and lasers are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes light energy and radio waves. "Raytheon focuses on non-lethal weapons", Andrew Johnson. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. [13], A related project is the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) system, which uses a less powerful version of the ABL's COIL laser, instead of missiles, to attack ground targets. The Active Denial System (ADS) is a nonlethal anti-personnel DEW that uses millimeter-wavelength beams to create a painful sensation in an individual without causing actual injury. Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. [58] The hosts of MythBusters tackled the Mirrors of Archimedes three times (in episodes 19, 57 and 172) and were never able to make the target ship catch fire, declaring the myth busted three separate times. 1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). The historian Mary Fulbrook states, "The subsequent serious illnesses and premature deaths of dissidents such as the novelist Jrgen Fuchs, and the author of the critical analysis of 'The Alternative in Eastern Europe', Rudolf Bahro, have been linked by some to the suspicion of exposure to extraordinarily high and sustained levels of X-rays while waiting for interrogations, and being strapped to unpleasant chairs in small prison cells in front of mysterious closed boxes- boxes that, along with their mysterious apparatus, curiously disappeared after the collapse of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) system. [10], Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. High-energy lasers (HEL) can range from a few kilowatts to megawatts of average power. Neuro-weapons can take the form of biological agents, chemical weapons and in the Havana case directed energy, and possibly a combination of different methods, Giordano said. In the late Middle Ages, a revolution in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered (gunpowder) weapons began to replace swords and bows. In 2010, the Airborne Laser shot down two missiles (both solid and liquid propelled) in their boost phase during flight testing which demonstrated the lethality of the laser against missile targets. The virtual inaudibility of the equipment is said to produce a "spooky" psychological effect. Rifle, bazooka and mortar rounds easily deformed the parabolic reflectors, rendering the wave amplification ineffective.[64]. In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone.[7]. When the LaWS was being integrated onto the ship, the designers and developers envisioned that it would be used several hours a day. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. The soldier returned a short time later to say that the engine would now work and the tourists drove off. The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs: Hearings Gulf War Illnesses; Testimony to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; Meryl Nass, MD, Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Mount Desert Island Hospital Bar Harbor, Maine; September 25, 2007, Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00, United States Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "Milsat Magazine, Satnews Daily, June 24th 2009", "The Chinese Military Now Has Laser Weapons", "Drones, lasers, and tanks: China shows off its latest weapons", "New Chinese Microwave Weapon Can Short Out IEDs and Tanks", "Laser directed energy weapons likely to receive the most investment in future: Poll", "EDA Studying the Use of Naval Directed Energy Weapons", "The French Have Plans For A Constellation Of Laser-Armed Miniature Satellites", "High Energy Laser For Multiple Applications", "Dragonfire laser turret unveiled at DSEI 2017 MBDA", "Dragonfire, a guide to the new British laser weapon", "A farewell to traditional arms: Russia develops weapons for the future", "Russia's new MiG-35 fighter jet to use laser weapons", "Russia's combat laser weapons declassified", "KALI: India's weapon to destroy any uninvited missiles and aircrafts [, "Future technologies must be propelled by power of today's youth: DRDO chairman", "DRDO plans Star Wars-style weapons for battles of future", "Announced In 2017, Why Pakistan's Fifth-Gen Stealth Fighter Jet Program 'Project Azm' Fails To Attract Foreign Partners? Though the strategic missile defense concept has continued to the present under the Missile Defense Agency, most of the directed-energy weapon concepts were shelved. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. In this case, the laser weapon system would sense the atmospheric conditions to the target, then using fast steering mirrors, it would deform the main laser beam as it leaves the weapon to use the atmosphere to the target much like the lens of a pair of glasses to refocus the beam on the target. Some common bio-effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results. Imagine how much the geopolitical calculus would change on the peninsula if a layered, integrated system of high energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons was deployed to defend against these threats. [15]Colonel Craig Hughes, Office of Force Transformation, U.S. Department of Defense, "Re-directed Energy: the Tactical Relay Mirror System," presentation at The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., February 13, 2006. In 1995, the Chinese military marketed the ZM-87 laser interference device, a tripod-mounted battlefield laser dazzler designed to blind enemy soldiers and optics temporarily. -13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). [17], Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). Laser light can be produced by a number of different methods, ranging from rods of chemically doped glass to energetic chemical reactions to semiconductors. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005. Electronic devices can be shielded by putting conductive metal cages around them; however, enough microwave energy may still get through the shielding to damage the device. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere. They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. The article states: 'The squawk box is highly directional which gives it its appeal. This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. Another revolution in weaponry is currently underway, with directed-energy weapons on the cusp of replacing chemical-powered weapons on the battlefield. And of course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little to no atmospheric affects. 11 Megan Eckstein, Navy to Field High-Energy Laser Weapon, Laser Dazzler on Ships This Year as Development Continues, USNI News, May 30, 2019. A microwave weapon can achieve this result by causing malfunctions within certain relay and processing circuits within the enemy target system. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. Vigilant Eagle is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. The power levels are driven by prime power generation limitations, and ERPs depend on the antenna design and aperture (i.e., size).6, Almost everyone has probably experienced the lethality of a microwave device when they inadvertently put a metal object into a kitchen microwave oven and watched the sparks fly. This same energy can be applied at higher powers for weapon effects. [1]On August 24, 2004, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system destroyed a salvo of mortar rounds in midair during a test. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. 7 David M. Sowders et al., High Power Microwave (HPM) and Ultrawideband (UWB): A Primer on High Power RF, PL-TR-95-1111, Special Report, Phillips Laboratory, March 1996, 76. But by far, the most ambitious program underway in DOD is being led by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Modern battlefield weapons are the descendents of muskets and cannon. [42][43][44], The effective radiated power (ERP) of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine radar makes it a hypothetical candidate for conversion into a directed-energy weapon, by focusing pulses of radar energy on target missiles. The countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable. The pain forces the person to flee the area. At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. Lung tissue was affected at only the closest ranges as atmospheric air is highly compressible and only the blood rich alveoli resist compression. It has been claimed that the USSR made use of the lasers at the Terra-3 site to target the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. It is developing a very high-power laser capable of being eventually deployed on a space-based platform to target missiles during their boost/ascent/midcourse phase. While DEWs are not a panacea, the armed services should fully support research and development of these useful technologies. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. [3]Richard M. Roberds, Ph.D., "Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon," Air University Review, July-August 1984, at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jul-aug/roberds.html (March 15, 2006). While directed-energy technology is not the panacea for all situations that its most ardent advocates claim, it can give the U.S. military flexibility in tailoring its responses (e.g., lethal or nonlethal) to different types of targets (humans or machines). The system consists of several modules: an infrared detection system to detect the missile's launch; the Tracking Illumination Laser (TILL); the Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL); and the Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL). Directed energy weapons are no longer just science fiction. However, because beam strength degrades rapidly as the particles react with the atoms in the atmosphere, it requires an enormous power plant to generate a weapons-grade beam. The Soviet Union invested some effort in the development of ruby and carbon dioxide lasers as anti-ballistic missile systems, and later as a tracking and anti-satellite system. Similar to the Armys RCCTO and the Navys Accelerated Acquisition (AA) Process, the Air Force is leveraging both Air Force Research Laboratorys DE Directorate and Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office to expedite delivery of capabilities to address key capability gaps identified in the DE flight plan: Forward Base Defense, Precision Strike, and Aircraft Self-Protect. In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmosphere, which conducts electricity. However, risks, challenges and limitations remain. This plan includes a program which aims to test high energy lasers on aircraft against surface to air and air to air missile threats. These high-speed missiles fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and greater. Conceptual MindWorks in San Antonio, TX received a $7 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract to provide for research support around emerging directed energy weapons (including non-lethal weapons) and their effects on humans.Work will be conducted in cooperation with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Human Effectiveness Directorate (AFRL/HEDR), Directed Energy Bio-effects Division, Radio . We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. The virus that causes COVID-19 most likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory, according to a classified report based on new intelligence and recently sent to the White House and key members . For more information, see Physicians for Human Rights and INCLO, "Lethal in Disguise: The Health Consequences of Crowd-Control Weapons." (March, 2016). If the microwave energy travels through the targets own antenna, dome, or other sensor opening, then this pathway is commonly referred to as the front door.7 On the other hand, if the microwave emissions travel through cracks, seams, trailing wires, metal conduits, or seals of the target, then this pathway is called the back door.8. Directed energy weapon could be responsible for auditory hallucinations, brain injuries. A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. [6], Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. Moreover, cheap countermeasures can be applied to existing missiles. [30][31] After decades of research and development, most directed-energy weapons are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons.[32][33]. The sensation increases in intensity until the affected individual moves out of the beam or it is shut off. [26] Most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not received this final stamp of approval. two directional speakers emitting 16,000 Hz and 16,002 Hz frequencies would produce in the ear two frequencies of 32,002 Hz and 2 Hz. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. Because of the strategic imperative to protect U.S. carrier battlegroups to enable us to project power, the U.S. Navy is following this prototyping effort with a much broader Navy Laser Family of Systems or NLFoS program, which will put the Navy on a path to develop and deploy lasers ranging from low power laser dazzlers to much higher power lasers capable of destroying anti-ship and high-speed cruise missiles. In this manner someone could be debilitated even though they were no longer imprisoned. As DOD works to develop and incorporate these technologies, much of the work should be collaborative, such as improvements in materials, power generation, thermal control, etc. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. to reduce size, weight, and power required to operate these weapons. However, as with the development of any unprecedented military capability, there are risks, challenges and limitations involving their cost, schedule and performance. One such alternative method was called decomposition (transl. [45] The energy spikes are tailored to enter missiles through antennae or sensor apertures where they can fool guidance systems, scramble computer memories or even burn out sensitive electronic components. They built an electron accelerator called Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. However, a variety of optical methods can be used to correct for blooming. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. In August 2004, the THEL system shot down multiple mortar rounds during testing. In the 1951 science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, powerful ray guns are shown vaporizing rifles and even tanks. The air-launched uses scramjets or rockets to power it throughout flight. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. In addition to the nuclear ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea, which can be defended by U.S. missile defense systems, there is a North Korean threat which cannot be defended against today. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. [48], Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.[50]. [citation needed]. [59][60] He and colleague Arnold Wilkins quickly concluded that it was not feasible, but as a consequence suggested using radio for the detection of aircraft and this started the development of radar in Britain. This article will examine answers to these questions. [38] The device comes in various sizes, including attached to a Humvee. Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. Such arrests, which could also involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005.[22]. They can not only achieve these speeds but can maneuver at them as well including varying trajectories, headings and altitudes. Laser energy can be generated as a continuous wave or in pulses, which also influences its lethality. A mechanized unit advancing through a town, protected by an anti-artillery and anti-missile laser shield, clearing the surrounding buildings of snipers and enemy troops with an active denial system, and using electrolasers to stun them before taking them prisoner, all while using HPM weapons to render the enemy's communications useless, would be a powerful military unit indeed. Richert Seifert & Co from Hamburg delivered parts. [23]Press release, "Northrop Grumman Surpasses Power, Run-Time Requirements of Joint High Power Solid-State Laser Program for Military Use," Northrop Grumman Corporation, November 9, 2005, at http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=89438 (March 15, 2006). One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. So, for a hypersonic weapon that is travelling at 25 times the speed of sound, a high- energy laser can engage it at roughly 35,000 times its speed. [49] The Sodium Guidestar at the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate's Starfire Optical Range. Like lasers, particle beams travel at the speed of light, but unlike lasers, the particles in a particle beam have mass, giving the beam tremendous kinetic energy. The DOD Office of Force Transformation (OFT), in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory, is developing the Tactical Relay Mirror System (TRMS), which would use a mirror system mounted on an aerostat or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to redirect the beams from laser weapons such as the ATL and ABL. 3. [16]U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "High-Power Microwaves," fact sheet, September 2002, at http://www.de.afrl.af.mil/Factsheets/HPM.swf (March 15, 2006). The U.S. Army confirmed in June that it is accelerating efforts to field a directed-energy weapon prototype by 2022. 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