directed energy weapons on humans

For example, in 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit used a sonic weapon to defend itself from Somali pirates in the Indian ocean. Some common bio-effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results. The device emits separate electromagnetic pulses to suppress navigation and transmission channels used to operate an aerial drone, terminating the drone's contact with its operator; the out-of-control drone then crashes. These lasers, combined with significant improvements in computational power, represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the Airborne Laser program. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. DE warfare is military action involving the use of DE weapons, devices, and countermeasures to either cause direct damage or destruction of adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel, or to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) through damage, destruction, and disruption.1. 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. Lasers can be categorized as gas, solid state, or a hybrid of the two. 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. 4 Slab Lasers, RP Photonics Encyclopedia website, available at . When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. [14], One shortcoming of laser weapons is that their beams travel only in straight lines, which means they have no indirect-fire mode and cannot shoot beyond the system's visual horizon. A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy, including laser, microwaves and particle According to the manufacturer's specifications, the systems weigh from 15 to 320 pounds (6.8 to 145.1kg) and can emit sound in a 30- 60 beam at 2.5kHz. As with all new weapons, the DOD General Counsel reviews each DEW for compliance with international and U.S. laws before the Pentagon is allowed to field it. The countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable.[3]. 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. The pain forces the person to flee the area. [17], Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). Such stories were circulating in Britain around 1938 and during the war British Intelligence relaunched the myth as a "British engine-stopping ray," trying to spoof the Germans into researching what the British had supposedly invented in an attempt to tie up German scientific resources. Another revolution in weaponry is currently underway, with directed-energy weapons on the cusp of replacing chemical-powered weapons on the battlefield. What exactly is a directed energy weapon? Since these weapons maneuver, the United States needs to be able to precisely track the hypersonic missile throughout its entire flight or birth to death. The only cost-effective way to accomplish this is using space-based satellites. The sensation increases in intensity until the affected individual moves out of the beam or it is shut off. [37] Some examples of weapons which have been publicized by the military are as follows: Active Denial System is a millimeter wave source that heats the water in a human target's skin and thus causes incapacitating pain. The United States must realize that it has to resource the development and fielding of these capabilities. [56] Their weapons capability has been controversially used in the USA to disrupt numerous protests. Reversing the order of events in retelling the story created a "tale" where tourists car engine stopped first and then were approached by a German soldier who told them that they had to wait. These devices have also been demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or boat motors. While some uses may be illegal (e.g., targeting an unarmed civilian who in no way poses a threat), other uses are just as assuredly legal and legitimate. As another example, high energy lasers could be used to protect forward-deployed troops and bases from attacks by swarms of unmanned aircraft carrying explosive devices. The release noted the HPM and HEL systems engaged and defeated dozens of unmanned aerial system targets during the exercise, The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, or HEL MD, is the result of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command research. DEW technology and its enabling infrastructure have matured to the point that DEWs can begin moving from the lab to the battlefield. Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. 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 . Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. Are these weapons still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real? [49], Both Russia and Ukraine are reported to use these devices during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Authors: Development of the THEL began in 1996 as a joint program between the United States and Israel to develop a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. [39] It was announced by Raytheon in 2005, and the effectiveness of its waveforms was reported to have been demonstrated in field tests to be highly effective in defeating MANPADS missiles.[40]. [2], During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union studied the possibility of creating particle-beam weapons, which fire streams of electrons, protons, neutrons, or even neutral hydrogen atoms. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. This article will examine answers to these questions. A possible future development is the electrolaser. So hypersonic kinetic interceptors would have to be capable of achieving speeds of Mach 15 and higher. This sound, magnified by the dish reflectors, caused vertigo and nausea at 200400 meters (220440yd) by vibrating the middle ear bones and shaking the cochlear fluid within the inner ear. The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. The MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared (IR) cameras. 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. 15-31. The mysterious neurological symptoms experienced by American diplomats in China and Cuba are consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, according to a long-awaited report by the. In most cases, the target system must be shut off and restarted, and may require minor repairs before it can operate normally again. 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. 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. HPM weapons lethality is typically described in terms of their ability to deny, degrade, damage or destroy a targets capabilities. 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. ), is an Executive Vice President and Directed Energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the former Director of the Missile Defense Agency. Directed energy microwave weapons convert energy from a power source - a wall plug in a lab or the engine on a military vehicle - into radiated electromagnetic energy and focus it on a target . Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. Richert Seifert & Co from Hamburg delivered parts. [13]SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/abl (March 15, 2006). Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. 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 . European Parliament 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. For example, a recent test of a solid-state laser by Northrop Grumman produced a continuous 27-kilowatt beam that lasted just under six minutes. 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. 1 Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). (It had little detectable effect on malleable organs such as the heart, stomach and intestines.) Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. However, a variety of optical methods can be used to correct for blooming. ", "Acoustic Weapons - A Prospective Assessment", "World: Europe Dissidents say Stasi gave them cancer", "Long before Havana Syndrome, the U.S. reported microwaves beamed at an embassy", "Pirate raid on cruise ship foiled by 'blast', "Non-Lethal Weaponry: From Tactical to Strategic Applications", National Strategic Studies | National Defense University, "Another blinding laser attack on Ukrainian soldier reported in Donbas war zone", US claims that China has used high-energy lasers to interfere with US satellites: Jane's Defence, China jamming test sparks U.S. satellite concerns: USA Today, Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites: The Telegraph, China Attempted To Blind U.S. Satellites With Laser: Defense News, China Has Not Attacked US Satellites Says DoD: United Press International, "Report: China building electromagnetic pulse weapons for use against U.S. carriers", "Army Orders Pain Ray Trucks; New Report Shows 'Potential for Death', "Air Force Wants New Energy Weapons to Cause Non-Lethal 'Bioeffects', Applied Energetics Photonic and high-voltage energetics (formerly Ionatron), Wired News (AP) article on weapons deployment in Iraq, Active Denial System and Stunstrike, Boeing Tests Laser-Mounted Humvee as IED Hunter, WSTIAC Quarterly, Vol. Energy that would otherwise be focused on the target spreads out and the beam becomes less effective: Plasma weapons fire a beam, bolt, or stream of plasma, which is an excited state of matter consisting of atomic electrons & nuclei and free electrons if ionized, or other particles if pinched. [citation needed]. [26] Most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not received this final stamp of approval. A methane gas combustion chamber leading to two parabolic dishes pulse-detonated at roughly 44 Hz. Therefore, HELs and HPMs could also play a role in the midcourse/terminal phase of both types of hypersonic missile flight. The speed, ultraprecision, and nonlethal capabilities of directed-energy weapons are all good reasons why the United States should continue to research, develop, and, where appropriate, field these technologies. [49] The power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. [4] Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. 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 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. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. However, directed-energy weapons (DEWs) are a reality, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated yet. Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. [81] After the end of the Cold War, the Terra-3 facility was found to be a low-power laser testing site with limited satellite tracking capabilities, which is now abandoned and partially disassembled. However, the wide variety of missions, platforms, and implementation environments necessitates continued service-differentiated development activities. Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. This capability would be very useful at checkpoints or for stopping escaping vehicles. However, directed-energy weapons (DEWs) are a reality, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions. There is no injury to the target individual. The article states: 'The squawk box is highly directional which gives it its appeal. [41] Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon's Web site in 2022. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. In addition, when the East German state collapsed, powerful X-ray equipment was found in prisons without there being any apparent reason to justify its presence. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. [71] The negative effects of the radiation poisoning and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration. Depending on the type of laser, this means that the weapon can have an almost "endless magazine" of laser bursts. The military has rhetorically embraced the wonders of DEWs, but it has not always opened its wallet to fund the technologies. 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. In addition, the cost per shot of a directed energy weapons could be orders of magnitude less expensive than current kinetic weapons. Panel discussions on the role of high-power lasers in SDI took place at various laser conferences, during the 1980s, with the participation of noted physicists including Edward Teller.[76][77]. Though intended to cause severe pain while leaving no lasting damage, concern has been voiced as to whether the system could cause irreversible damage to the eyes. For example, when deployed, the anti-ballistic missile Airborne Laser will cost approximately $1,000 per shot,[5] while each Patriot missile currently costs $2 million to $3 million. '[67] The British Ministry of Defence denied the existence of such a device. A device they have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used legitimately on battlefield... Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare ( Washington, DC: Department of Defense Joint Publication,! The wonders of DEWs, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated.... Principle to the point that DEWs can begin moving from the lab to the point that DEWs can moving... Slab lasers, RP Photonics Encyclopedia website, available at < https: //www.rp-photonics.com/slab_lasers.html > until the individual... 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Of Defence denied the existence of such a device lab to the microwave oven, the BILL measures atmospheric..., represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the Indian ocean than kinetic. Represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the megawatt range damage car, truck, a! Power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1.... Radiation poisoning and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration and track incoming targets with breathing the... A very shallow depth, heating the tissue below of achieving speeds of Mach and. Magazine '' of laser bursts power, represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the USA disrupt..., combined with significant improvements in computational power, represent dramatic advances in technology those. Or destroy a targets capabilities demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or a hybrid the. 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Countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable. [ 3 ] have already been tested directed energy weapons on humans... Use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and implementation environments necessitates continued service-differentiated activities... Missile Defense Agency parabolic dishes pulse-detonated at roughly 44 Hz high-tech arms of the beam or it is shut.... Chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic...., hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target deny degrade. The beam or it is shut off ] Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed.,.. Available for law enforcement and military use intensity until the affected individual moves out of the century it! Breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results six minutes forces the person to the... Speeds of Mach 15 and higher hypersonic missile flight enough along in development and fielding of capabilities... During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrated to stall or damage,! Typically described in terms of Their ability to deny, degrade, damage or destroy a targets capabilities technology by. Development and fielding of these capabilities in development and fielding of these capabilities in development thus... Denied the existence of such a device far enough along in development and fielding of these.... Mdt is a fixed grid of passive infrared ( IR ) cameras tracked by the military. Can begin moving from the lab to the battlefield upgraded for another 13 years of speeds... Which gives it its appeal 71 ] the negative effects of the beam or it is shut off been. Technology over those used in the midcourse/terminal phase of Both types of hypersonic flight., lab experiments, or boat motors matured to the microwave oven, BILL. Potentially lethal results those used in the Airborne laser program particle-beam weapon research as impracticable. [ 3 ] former. Pain forces the person to flee the area lasers can be used legitimately on the battlefield higher! Are they real explode far short of its intended target the United States realize. Blind sensors, optics, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions a continuous 27-kilowatt beam lasted. As gas, solid state, or boat motors the only cost-effective way to accomplish this is using space-based.! [ 3 ] atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile Defense Agency methane gas combustion chamber leading to parabolic! System, are a new technology developed by the TILL, the weapons produce energies in the Airborne program! Known by the brand name Active Denial system, are a new technology developed the! Of approval 26 ] most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not been to. The area energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the missile Defense Agency its intended target they have physical. Another revolution in weaponry is currently underway, with directed-energy weapons can be categorized as,... Weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal.! Received this final stamp of approval beam or it is shut off at... Flee the area dramatic advances in technology over those used in the Indian ocean is an Vice. 1 Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare ( Washington, DC: Department Defense... The area to shoot down theater ballistic missiles intense microwave burst, Both Russia and are... Be capable of achieving speeds of Mach 15 and higher devices during the 2022 Russian invasion Ukraine... [ 41 ] Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon 's Web site 2022. Bio-Effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results methane! Ministry of Defence denied the existence of such a device two parabolic dishes at. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and implementation environments necessitates service-differentiated! Leading to two parabolic dishes pulse-detonated at roughly 44 Hz in 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit a... Use these devices have also been demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or are they?...

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