A directed-energy weapon ( DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. The Pentagon believes that DEWs are legal under international law, but human rights groups are arguing that DEWs could be used inhumanely. Loading. While they are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently and have very different effects. 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. In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmosphere, which conducts electricity. They are not "weapons of mass destruction," but they have the potential to . The U.S. Army has also been moving out aggressively in developing and deploying directed energy weapons as part of its Air and Missile Defense modernization priority. 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 . At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. [24]China North Industries Corporation, "ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber Fact Sheet," quoted in Human Rights Watch, "Blinding Laser Weapons: The Need to Ban a Cruel and Inhumane Weapon," September 1995, at http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/General1.htm (March 15, 2006). Thus, the deny capability is not permanent because the affected systems can be easily restored to their previous operational condition. 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. The manufacturer states that the weapon can disrupt remote control, the transmission of video at 2.4 and 5 GHz, and GPS and Glonass satellite navigation signals. The laser light is coherent in a single color, and the flashlight is broad-spectrum light. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. Putting the proper protocols in place should mitigate these concerns. 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. In addition, the Air Force has partnered with the Navy in the development of a high-power RF weapon called High-power Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike (HiJENKS) capable of attacking electronics, communications and computer networks. 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/>. [83] A few years later, the cruise liner Spirit of Adventure also defended itself from Somali pirates by using its LRAD to force them to retreat. The technology is maturing rapidly, threats are emerging which directed energy can almost uniquely address, and the warfighters are signaling their support. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. However, as with the development of any unprecedented military capability, there are risks, challenges and limitations involving their cost, schedule and performance. For instance, the Active Denial System was not ready for deployment when the United States invaded Iraq, in part because the money was not there. 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. 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. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. Alane Kochems 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. The air-launched uses scramjets or rockets to power it throughout flight. They can destroy, degrade or blind many other systems that contain sensors and electronics. ", "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. 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. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. In this last factor, the frequency of the laser and the engagement altitude will have a significant impact on how much the atmosphere effects the lasers lethality. They can not only achieve these speeds but can maneuver at them as well including varying trajectories, headings and altitudes. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? However, directed-energy weapons (DEWs) are a reality, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. 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. In an effort to avoid such condemnation the state security service, the Stasi, attempted alternative methods of repression which could paralyze people without keeping them in a physical prison. [48], Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.[50]. At the speeds that these hypersonic missiles fly, they have vulnerabilities which could be exploited by directed energy weapons. [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. They are also used on ships as an anti-piracy measure. Laser light can be produced by a number of different methods, ranging from rods of chemically doped glass to energetic chemical reactions to semiconductors. 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.[23]. getty. Depending on the type of laser, this means that the weapon can have an almost "endless magazine" of laser bursts. Rifle, bazooka and mortar rounds easily deformed the parabolic reflectors, rendering the wave amplification ineffective.[64]. The meaning of degrade is to remove the enemys ability to operate and to potentially inflict minimal injury on electronic hardware systems. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. ), is an Executive Vice President and Directed Energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the former Director of the Missile Defense Agency. 1 Directed Energy Weapons. the 14,000 artillery and rocket launchers arrayed within striking distance of Seoul with its 10 million inhabitants. First, the choice of a lasers wavelength can help to mitigate the affect because different laser wavelengths perform much better in the atmosphere than others. The Army used Navy-, and Air Force- developed HPM weapons during recent conflicts to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs). (Invented by Max Steenbeck at Siemens-Schuckert in the 1930s, these were later called Betatrons by the Americans.) Semiconductors and modern electronics are particularly susceptible to HPM attacks. 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. With the ever-increasing use of electronics in weapons systems, HPM devices could have a devastating but nonlethal effect on the battlefield. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . When directed-energy weapons are mentioned, most people think of "death rays" or Hollywood's latest science fiction movie. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. [9], The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. 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. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. 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. For example, when deployed, the anti-ballistic missile Airborne Laser will cost approximately $1,000 per shot. A laser weapon could target not only a single vehicle in a convoy, but also a specific spot on that vehicle (e.g., the engine) and disable it without injuring the passengers. On 10 October 1984 (STS-41-G), the Terra-3 tracking laser was allegedly aimed at Challenger as it passed over the facility. Challenges remain in terms of the size, weight and power input requirements of todays laser systems, especially in the thermal control and power management subsystems. There are reports that the Terra-3 complex at Sary Shagan was used on several occasions to temporarily "blind" US spy satellites in the IR range. The lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. These data are then passed on to the mirror system, which makes appropriate corrections so that, when the COIL fires, maximum energy is transmitted to the target. For fictional uses, see, "DEW" redirects here. Lasers produce either continuous beams or short, intense pulses of light in every spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet. And of course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little to no atmospheric affects. Among the directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Gans and Fritz Houtermans. Since the invention of gunpowder, a weapon's effectiveness has no longer depended on the wielder's strength, but on the chemical energy of the propellant or explosive. [46] Potentially lethal effects are produced only inside 100 meters range, and disruptive effects at distances on the order of one kilometer. While not a rifle or gun, it is so nicknamed as it is handled in the same way as a personal rifle. Because the laser energy travels at the speed of light, lasers are particularly well-suited for use against moving targets such as rockets, missiles, and artillery projectiles. As the Pentagon addresses these issues, it should do so in the same way that it would for any other category of weapon that it has reviewed. [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). 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. In the late Middle Ages, a revolution in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered (gunpowder) weapons began to replace swords and bows. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. This laser would be megawatt class and have a range of hundreds of miles. Its effective beam width is so small that it can be directed at individuals in a riot. 1 Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). The distinction between them is the wavelength/frequency of the energy. More than 130 US officials, from the state department, CIA and national security council (NSC), have suffered from symptoms, including dizziness, loss of balance, nausea and headaches, first. The Air Force also recently demonstrated the ability of an HPM weapon to bring down multiple drones in testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to a recent Military.com article: After decades of research and investment, we believe these advanced directed-energy applications will soon be ready for the battlefield to help protect people, assets and infrastructure. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president, said in a news release accompanying the announcement. 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