For ex. 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. 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. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated yet. Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. Andrew Gudgel, a former Army Warrant Officer, is currently a freelance writer. 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). However, current research focuses on using them as a means of nonlethal area defense and as anti-electronic weapons rather than as "death rays.". For example, a Navy ship-to-air laser will have different requirements than an Air Force air-to-air system, which will have different requirements than a space-based missile defense system and therefore different technological considerations. 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. 8, No. Lasers produce either continuous beams or short, intense pulses of light in every spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet. This type of weapon shows great potential as a riot-control device or area-denial system. Blooming is also a problem in particle-beam weapons. Today, Directed Energy weapons are being developed by the US and its adversaries for land, sea, and air and space applications. Laser light can be produced by a number of different methods, ranging from rods of chemically doped glass to energetic chemical reactions to semiconductors. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. Richert Seifert & Co from Hamburg delivered parts. 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. [6]GlobalSecurity.org, "Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/patriot-ac-3.htm (March 15, 2006). But let us broaden these applications somewhat. [79][80] However, this story is comprehensively denied by the crew members of STS-41-G and knowledgeable members of the US intelligence community. 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]. 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The Air Force Research Lab's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire and high-voltage capacitors. Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. Semiconductors and modern electronics are particularly susceptible to HPM attacks. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. Not only could they be used to defend against ballistic missiles in the boost/ascent and midcourse phase, but they could also be used to defend critical space-based assets against enemy anti-satellite attack. 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. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. With the ever-increasing use of electronics in weapons systems, HPM devices could have a devastating but nonlethal effect on the battlefield. 12 Jen Judson, U.S. [38] The device comes in various sizes, including attached to a Humvee. [19], A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. They are well-suited to defending against threats such as missiles and artillery shells, which DEWs can shoot down in mid-flight. 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. The number of "shots" a laser weapon can produce is limited only by its power supply. 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. Because electrical noise from car engines would interfere with field strength measurements, sentries would stop all traffic in the vicinity for the twenty minutes or so needed for a test. They built an electron accelerator called Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military, designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control. 5-1111, Special Report, Phillips Laboratory, March 1996, 76. 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. Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. 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. from PrayingMedic: Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 VIDEO: 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. Magnus Karlsson (2009). A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmosphere, which conducts electricity. Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. This laser would be megawatt class and have a range of hundreds of miles. 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]. [48] Lasers can be categorized as gas, solid state, or a hybrid of the two. 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. 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 . 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. Depending on the type of laser, this means that the weapon can have an almost "endless magazine" of laser bursts. Neither should we. 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. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. 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. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. 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. 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. [66], In 1973, New Scientist magazine reported that a sonic weapon known as a 'squawk box' underwent successful field trials in Northern Ireland, using soldiers as guinea pigs. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. But again, advances in computational power coming out of the gaming industry (such as graphics processing units) and artificial intelligence coming from autonomous automobile development can be instrumental in providing these needed capabilities. 1 Directed Energy Weapons. 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. 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. 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. However, a variety of optical methods can be used to correct for blooming. Vigilant Eagle is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. Such arrests, which could also involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally. 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. [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). Thermal blooming occurs in both charged and neutral particle beams, and occurs when particles bump into one another under the effects of thermal vibration, or bump into air molecules. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Directed-energy_weapon&oldid=1140806805. 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. [24] Would the permanent blinding of a soldier struck by a ZM-87's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental? Artilleri-Tidskrift (22009): s. s 1215. They can destroy, degrade or blind many other systems that contain sensors and electronics. 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. Much work needs to be done before DEWs are deployed. 15 Office of the Secretary of Defense, Missile Defense Review, January 2019, available at < https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Interactive/2018/11-2019-Missile-Defense-Review/The%202019%20MDR_Executive%20Summary.pdf>. 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. Authors: A year later, testing showed that the ADS could produce effects at ranges beyond current small-arms range. 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. "laser.". Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems. [17], Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). Researchers with AFRL use the Guidestar laser for real-time, high-fidelity tracking and imaging of satellites too faint for conventional adaptive optical imaging systems. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. 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. 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. Researchers with AFRL use the Guidestar laser for real-time, high-fidelity tracking and imaging of satellites too faint for conventional adaptive optical imaging systems. [6], Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. 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. High-power microwave (HPM) and high-power millimeter wave weapons emit beams of electromagnetic energy typically from about 10 megahertz to the 100 gigahertz frequency range. Today, solid state electrical (including fiber) and hybrid lasers are being developed that are much lighter and smaller. Loading. 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 THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. "Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program," Defense Update, at http://www.defense-update.com/directory/THEL.htm (March 10, 2006). 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. There are also three types of EM U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "High-Power Microwaves," fact sheet, September 2002, at, Dr. Stephen Adams, "Electrical Power and Thermal Management for Airborne Directed Energy Weapons," U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, September 2001, at, Carlo Kopp, "The Electromagnetic Bomb-A Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction," at, GlobalSecurity.org, "High Power Microwave (HPM)/E-Bomb," at, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "Active Denial System," fact sheet, September 2005, at, 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, 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, "Electromagnetic Weapons: Come Fry with Me,", David Ruppe, "Directed-Energy Weapons: Possible U.S. Use Against Iraq Could Threaten International Regimes," Global Security Newswire, Russias New START Breach Means U.S. Nuclear Weapons Modernization Is a Must, North Koreas Growing ICBM Threat: How America and South Korea Should Respond, China Surpasses U.S. in Nuclear Missile Launchers; U.S. Unprepared to Deter Growing Threat. 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