[9], The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. Current HPM research focuses on pulsed power devices, which create intense, ultrashort bursts of electrical energy and would be used to power the microwave generator of an HPM weapon. Turning to the air, the United States spent billions of dollars to develop and deploy stealth technology for its fighters and bombers to avoid radar detection and being targeted by surface to air missiles. A microwave weapon can achieve this result by causing malfunctions within certain relay and processing circuits within the enemy target system. A possible future development is the electrolaser. [86], Also, "directed-energy weapons that target the central nervous system and cause neurophysiological disorders may violate the Certain Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980. The virtual inaudibility of the equipment is said to produce a "spooky" psychological effect. [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. One of the greatest attributes of directed energy weapons is that they operate at the speed of light. The only question is whether the United States and its allies will achieve that dominance before an adversary does. The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. They have been used on several occasions to repel pirate attacks by sending warnings and by producing intolerable levels of sound. Laser light is created when the electrons in atoms in special glasses, crystals, or gases absorb energy from an electrical current or another laser and become excited. The excited electrons move from a lower-energy orbit to a higher-energy orbit around the atoms nucleus. Because of its coherence, laser light can stay concentrated for very long distanceseven thousands of miles into space. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. 7, No. [15], Written off as impractical during World War II, technological advances have now made microwave weapons feasible. It is relatively close to deployment. For high energy lasers, lethality depends on the power output of the laser, the purity and concentration of the light (beam quality), the target range, the ability to keep the laser on the target aimpoint (jitter control and tracking), and the atmospheric environment the laser traverses to the target. The United States has come a very long way in the development of directed energy weapon capabilities and is now at a critical juncture. While they are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently and have very different effects. The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. 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Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. getty. While the development costs of directed energy systems can be high, there are several factors in play which can reduce these costs or at least provide better return on the investment over the life cycle. "Bofors HPM Blackout". At higher energy levels, the microwaves can permanently "burn out" equipment, much as a close lightning strike could. It stated that it did have, however, an 'ultra-loud public address system which [] could be "used for verbal communication over two miles, or put out a sustained or modulated sound blanket to make conversation, and thus crowd organisation, impossible. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005.[22]. For example, atmospheric conditions such as turbulence, haze, clouds, etc. According to DODs Joint Publication 313 Electronic Warfare, directed energy (DE) is described as an: umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. 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. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control duty. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. A year later, testing showed that the ADS could produce effects at ranges beyond current small-arms range. DEW technology and its enabling infrastructure have matured to the point that DEWs can begin moving from the lab to the battlefield. For example, the static and distortion that high voltage power lines have on a car radio causes no lasting damage to the radio after the car leaves the area. Depending on the type of laser, this means that the weapon can have an almost "endless magazine" of laser bursts. Laser beams also lose energy through absorption or scattering if fired through dust, smoke, or rain. In recent years the U.S. Navy deployed a 30kW class solid state laser weapon system (LaWS) prototype on the Afloat Forward Staging Base, USS Ponce. 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 . , 2018, available at < https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/02/28/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones/>. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. [41] Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon's Web site in 2022. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. At 200 yards away, body temperature increases from the normal 98.6 F to 107 F. At closer range, the temperature increase can be even higher, and is lethal. Directed energy weapons could have several main advantages over conventional weaponry: Some devices are described as microwave weapons; the microwave range is commonly defined as being between 300MHz and 300GHz (wavelengths of 1 meter to 1 millimeter), which is within the radiofrequency (RF) range. The MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared (IR) cameras. This laser uses rings of magnetically confined electrons whirling at the speed of light to produce laser beams that can be tuned up and down the electromagnetic spectrum from microwaves to ultraviolet light. HPM weapons lethality is typically described in terms of their ability to deny, degrade, damage or destroy a targets capabilities. 12 Jen Judson, U.S. However, as with the development of any unprecedented military capability, there are risks, challenges and limitations involving their cost, schedule and performance. ", "Defence IQ talks to Dr Palek about Directed Energy Weapon systems", "US Navy Laser Weapon Fires At $1 Per Shot", "Israel tests improved Arrow interceptor", "Defense News - Russian army confirms use of Stupor anti-drone rifle in Ukraine", "Russia Uses Stupor Technology To Ward Off Ukrainian Drone Attacks", "Russia is developing laser, electromagnetic and plasma weapons", "Applications LRAD Corporation website", "How to Dodge the Sonic Weapon Used by Police", Directed-Energy Weapons: No Longer Science Fiction, "Robert Watson-Watt: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland", "How the search for a 'death ray' led to radar", "Robert Watson-Watt biography - Science Hall of Fame - National Library of Scotland", "Forschungssttte fr Hitlers "Todesstrahlen", Reports of Use of Laser Weapons By The Soviets Against the Chinese, "How dangerous is the Army's squawk box? Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. Both the Allies and the Axis powers conducted basic research and studies into primitive directed-energy weapons before World War II. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. and also Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) Symptoms of extremely high and extremely low EMFs and Directed Energy Weapons or (DEW) Please keep in mind that not all symptoms are experienced in an exact order - you may experience the worst symptoms first - or the least of the symptoms in a later stage. Moreover, cheap countermeasures can be applied to existing missiles. The sensation increases in intensity until the affected individual moves out of the beam or it is shut off. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. 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. A14.5 kHz E V2K 28-Dec-8927-Oct-92Oliver M. LoweryOliver M. LoweryPresents subliminal auditory information to the human via remotely applied waves US 5356368 A4-212 Hz MK 1-Mar-9118-Oct-94Robert A. MonroeInterstate Industries Inc. (dba Monroe Products)Method of and apparatus for inducing . National Defense University They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. Particle-beam weapons can use charged or neutral particles, and can be either endoatmospheric or exoatmospheric. The pain forces the person to flee the area. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. On land, this includes base defense, where DE can provide a deep magazine, long-range engagement, and low cost-per-shot against proliferated threats. During the Iraq War, electromagnetic weapons, including high power microwaves, were used by the U.S. military to disrupt and destroy Iraqi electronic systems and may have been used for crowd control. 1, 2018, available at < https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/>. This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. [5]Suzann Chapman, "The Airborne Laser," Air Force Magazine, Vol. Existing directed-energy weapons are in the range of tens of thousands of kilowatts: the American ADS fires a 100kW millimetre-wave beam which can cause burns to the skin; the Turkish ALKA dual EM/laser system for use against combat vehicles reportedly has a power of 50kW; the LAWS laser weapon generated 33kW during testing; and Dynetics and . This technology delivers very high-frequency millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic rays that heat skin on contact, causing a painful burning sensation. When they return to their normal or ground state, the electrons emit photons (particles of light). However, current research focuses on using them as a means of nonlethal area defense and as anti-electronic weapons rather than as "death rays.". [74] Some of the victims of this method suffered from suspicious cases of cancer and have claimed that they had also been targeted with directed X-rays. It turned out that during its three-year deployment, from 201114, it was used nearly around the clock in its ISR mode. The weapon's long-range capabilities limit opportunities for the user to assess on-the-ground conditions, potentiating the risk for its inappropriate or disproportionate use. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. However, a variety of optical methods can be used to correct for blooming. Army Successfully Demos Laser Weapon Stryker in Germany, DefenseNews.com, March 21, 2018, available at < https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/>. Discrete, mission-aligned efforts will maintain our pace of development in the race to get these technologies to the field. Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. These high-speed missiles fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and greater. In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone.[7]. This laser would be megawatt class and have a range of hundreds of miles. One problem that affects laser beam strength is a phenomenon known as "blooming," which occurs when the laser beam heats the atmosphere through which it is passing, turning the air into plasma. However, risks, challenges and limitations remain. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. [2]David E. Fisher, A Race on the Edge of Time: Radar-The Decisive Weapon of WWII (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988), pp. [63], During the early 1940s Axis engineers developed a sonic cannon that could cause fatal vibrations in its target body. Between 200005, a prototype chemical laser successfully destroyed 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight during field tests. The U.S. military has developed a directed energy technology that shoots beams of a slightly longer wavelength in a focused area over distances up to a mile. Examples of this capability include signal overrides or insertion, power cycling (turning power on and off at irregular intervals) and causing the system to lock-up. These effects are not permanent because the target system will return to normal operation within a specified time, which obviously varies according to the weapon. However, British scientists calculated that the electronic systems of the time could not generate the power necessary for a "death ray," and research was redirected into early radar detection systems. True support for a program is often best measured by the resources that an organization is willing to devote to it. Boost glide weapons are launched atop ballistic missiles then released to glide to the target. For continuous wave systems, which use high average power to effect targets, levels are typically from 50 to 100s of kilowatts up to several megawatts of power. LRAD systems are used for long-range communications in a variety of applications[53] and as a means of non-lethal, non-projectile crowd control. While not a rifle or gun, it is so nicknamed as it is handled in the same way as a personal rifle. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? The intent was to pre-ionize ignition in aircraft engines and hence serve as anti-aircraft DEW and bring planes down into the reach of the flak. low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. Among the directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Gans and Fritz Houtermans. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. But there is a rule of thumb that states that an interceptor needs to be capable of three times the speed of the target it is defending against to be able to maneuver to destroy it. 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. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. 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. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. Consider that today the United States will launch kinetic interceptors at an incoming threat warhead that cost tens of millions of dollars and multiple interceptors are fired for maximum probability of success. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. ), is an Executive Vice President and Directed Energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the former Director of the Missile Defense Agency. 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. 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Affected individual moves out of the missile Defense Agency depth, heating the tissue in terms of their to! Delivers very high-frequency millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic rays that heat skin on contact, a... And Fritz Houtermans of the greatest attributes of directed energy Lead at Booz Allen and. Penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation in! Warnings and by producing intolerable levels of sound ) and greater for weapon effects mission-aligned efforts will maintain our of! Out '' equipment, much as a close lightning strike could fixed-base laser system was too and.
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