Light and repetitive visual signals can induce epileptic seizures. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005.[22]. European Parliament In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmosphere, which conducts electricity. [88], Media related to Directed-energy weapons at Wikimedia Commons, This article is about real uses of directed energy weapons. These photons are all at the same wavelength and are coherent, meaning the crests and troughs of the light waves are all in lockstep. The Ukrainian army are reported to use the Ukrainian KVS G-6, with a 3.5km range and able to operate continuously for 30 minutes. The kinetic energy imparted by a particle stream destroys the target by heating the target's atoms to the point that the material literally explodes. [5]Suzann Chapman, "The Airborne Laser," Air Force Magazine, Vol. 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. [9], The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. 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. In addition, a laser shot (including the cost of producing the energy) is much cheaper than a shot from a chemical-powered weapon system. What if the United States could deploy effective anti-missile lasers on its aircraft to defeat any missile(s) fired at them? High-energy lasers (HEL) can range from a few kilowatts to megawatts of average power. 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. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. 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. Fixing the Research and Deployment Bottlenecks. Weapons designed to cause undue suffering are banned under the Geneva Convention, and human rights groups argue that directed-energy weapons raise a host of new legal and moral concerns that do not apply to previous generations of conventional weapons. DEW technology and its enabling infrastructure have matured to the point that DEWs can begin moving from the lab to the battlefield. At the speeds that these hypersonic missiles fly, they have vulnerabilities which could be exploited by directed energy weapons. One of the greatest attributes of directed energy weapons is that they operate at the speed of light. They are also used on ships as an anti-piracy measure. 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 . Compare that to a high energy laser which could kill multiple threat missiles with a single magazine charge for a tiny fraction of the cost. However, these lasers were generally large and heavy. 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. 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. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. The device combined two slightly different frequencies which when heard would be heard as the sum of the two frequencies (ultrasonic) and the difference between the two frequencies (infrasonic) e.g. 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. Authors: Both the Allies and the Axis powers conducted basic research and studies into primitive directed-energy weapons before World War II. Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere. Laser beams also lose energy through absorption or scattering if fired through dust, smoke, or rain. Weapons that go beyond non-lethal intentions and cause 'superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering' may also violate the Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1977."[87]. [10], Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. For example, while the Chinese ZM-87 laser interference device is technically a laser dazzler, it can permanently damage the human eye at a distance of two to three kilometers. The United States has the technology, the resources, the talent, and the infrastructure to develop and deploy directed energy weapons to meet todays and tomorrows emerging threats. [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. 4 Slab Lasers, RP Photonics Encyclopedia website, available at . Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. What are the challenges and next steps? [26]David Ruppe, "Directed-Energy Weapons: Possible U.S. Use Against Iraq Could Threaten International Regimes," Global Security Newswire, at http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/020816-dew.htm (March 15, 2006). Blooming is also a problem in particle-beam weapons. They are well-suited to defending against threats such as missiles and artillery shells, which DEWs can shoot down in mid-flight. In fact, the megawatt-class Airborne Laser developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s required an entire 747 aircraft to hold the equipment. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. Space-based high energy lasers could be brought to bear especially in the boost/ascent phase of boost glide hypersonic missiles where a high-energy laser could destroy the vehicle early in its trajectory. [citation needed]. DefenseNews in their coverage of the March 2018 Booz Allen Hamilton/CSBA Directed Energy Summit in Washington highlighted the remark by Colonel Dennis Wille, the Army G3 strategic program chief for U.S. Army Europe, that over the weekend the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (supported by the 7th Army Training Command and the Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma) had conducted a live-fire engagement of the 5kW Mobile Expeditionary High-Energy Laser demonstrator at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. 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. Fiber lasers are lasers in which the active medium being used is an optical fiber that has been doped in rare elements, most often Erbium.3 Slab lasers represent one class of high-power solid-state lasers in which the laser crystal has the form of a slab.4 Hybrid lasers such as a diode pumped alkali laser use a combination of trace gas with semiconductor diode arrays for even higher power and efficiency.5. Examples of NLFoS weapons include: a 60kW laser called HELIOS (High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance) expected to be deployed by 2021 that will be capable of burning through small boats and shooting down drones; the SSLTM (Solid State LaserTechnology Maturation system), which will eventually be a 150kW laser weapon on the LPD27 amphibious ship; and the ODIN (Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy) that will also go on a destroyer.11. [19]GlobalSecurity.org, "High Power Microwave (HPM)/E-Bomb," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm (March 15, 2006). 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. Magnus Karlsson (2009). When a laser beam strikes a target, the energy from the photons in the beam heats the target to the point of combustion or melting. 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. The Defense Department is developing directed energy weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a way designed to achieve optimal outcomes. There is no injury to the target individual. 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. [61][62], Stories in the 1930s and World War Two gave rise to the idea of an "engine-stopping ray". This destroys the device but produces electrical pulses in the terawatt range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes. 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. 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. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. With the ever-increasing use of electronics in weapons systems, HPM devices could have a devastating but nonlethal effect on the battlefield. For example, lasers can cut through steel, aluminum, and many other materials in a matter of seconds. This article will examine answers to these questions. When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface. Directional sound. While directed-energy research is advancing, inadequate funding is hindering more rapid development and deployment of these technologies. The destructive power of directed energy weapons (their lethality) derives from the amount of energy transferred to the target over time. First up is the Multi-Mission High Energy Laser, a 50-killowatt retrofit to a modified Stryker vehicle, which is expected to be operational in 2023. [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. What are Directed Energy Weapons? This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. These include: Directed energy weapons have been in development for decades in our nations research and development organizations, national laboratories and industry. The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. [48], Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.[50]. The soldier returned a short time later to say that the engine would now work and the tourists drove off. 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 Phaser | December 6, 2022 Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022. 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. 7, No. True support for a program is often best measured by the resources that an organization is willing to devote to it. Retrieved 2010-01-04. ", "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. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005. While DEWs are not the solution to all combat situations, these technologies would provide the U.S. military with additional flexibility in tailoring its response to different types of threats. Loading. - The Navy continues to learn more about a pair of directed energy weapons, as the service installs the fourth and fifth dazzler system this year and begins land-based testing of . 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. low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. [8], In August 2004, the THEL system shot down multiple mortar rounds during testing. The Army used Navy-, and Air Force- developed HPM weapons during recent conflicts to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Artilleri-Tidskrift (22009): s. s 1215. The countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable. 13 Todd South, Soldiers in Europe are now Using Lasers to Shoot Down Drones, ArmyTimes.com, February 8, 2018, available at < https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/02/28/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones/>. -Alane Kochems is a Policy Analyst for National Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. Between 200005, a prototype chemical laser successfully destroyed 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight during field tests. Directed energy weapons are no longer just science fiction. , 2019, available at . The electrical shock is enough to stun personnel, detonate improvised explosive devices, or destroy electronic equipment. Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. The idea of damage is to inflict moderate injury on enemy communications facilities, weapons systems, and subsystems hardware, and to do so in order to incapacitate the enemy for a certain time. Modern battlefield weapons are the descendents of muskets and cannon. 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. The pain forces the person to flee the area. There are also three types of EM Electrolasers make use of laser bloom, a normally undesired effect. 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. The Air Force Research Lab's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire and high-voltage capacitors. For example, when deployed, the anti-ballistic missile Airborne Laser will cost approximately $1,000 per shot. This type of weapon shows great potential as a riot-control device or area-denial system. In addition, while you are firing on one power source, you can be charging another for near continuous operation. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. "Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program," Defense Update, at http://www.defense-update.com/directory/THEL.htm (March 10, 2006). This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00. This causes the beam to lose focus, dissipating its power. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. 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. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. 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. Because of its coherence, laser light can stay concentrated for very long distanceseven thousands of miles into space. speed of light engagement which makes responsiveness and tracking much faster than kinetic weapons; deep shot magazines which are only limited by the electrical power supplied to and re-generated by the system; stealth-like performance (quiet and invisible beams) that are hard to detect or intercept; precision targeting for both lethal and non-lethal applications; and. [3], China,[4][5][6][7] France,[8][9][10][11] Germany,[8][9] the United Kingdom,[12][13] Russia,[14][15][16] India,[17][18][19] and Pakistan[20][21][22] are also developing military-grade directed-energy weapons, while Iran[23][24][25][26] and Turkey claim to have them in active service. 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. EM launchers use electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from directed energy. [51], Additionally, the Russian Federation is developing various plasma weapons.[52]. 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 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). So how close are they to becoming weaponized? In this manner someone could be debilitated even though they were no longer imprisoned. Finally, the concept of destroy involves the ability to inflict catastrophic and permanent injury on the enemy functions and systems. However, current research focuses on using them as a means of nonlethal area defense and as anti-electronic weapons rather than as "death rays.". Some attempts to replicate this feat have had some success; in particular, an experiment by students at MIT showed that a mirror-based weapon was at least possible, if not necessarily practical. For example, the MDR proposes that the Missile Defense Agency study the potential to develop and field space-based lasers to intercept ballistic missiles.15. They are real and are maturing rapidly. [25]"Electromagnetic Weapons: Come Fry with Me," The Economist, January 30, 2003, at http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030130-ebomb01.htm (March 15, 2006). In the next several years, the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force all plan to develop and field these weapons at an increasing pace. But again, there are major advances in these areas being made especially with the technology that has been developing in the electric car industry. This damage may create permanent effects depending upon the severity of the attack and the ability of the enemy to diagnose, replace, or repair the affected systems. Within that priority area, the Army is focused on the use of high energy lasers to provide Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) and ManeuverShort-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD). ", Press release, "Airborne Laser Progress Continues as Northrop Grumman Runs Full-Power COIL Tests, Delivers Beacon Illuminator Laser," Northrop Grumman Corporation, January 4, 2006, at, SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at, Press release, "Boeing Receives Aircraft for Laser Gunship Program," Boeing, January 23, 2006, at. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. Depending on factors such as burst height, microwave frequency, and the shielding around the target electronics, such an e-bomb could have an effective range of several hundred meters. 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