directed energy weapons on humans

Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere. This type of weapon shows great potential as a riot-control device or area-denial system. 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, 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. Russia has reportedly been using blinding laser weapons during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. More importantly, peer and near-peer nations are developing these weapons at an alarming rate. At the speeds that these hypersonic missiles fly, they have vulnerabilities which could be exploited by directed energy weapons. Space-based lasers would have a profound impact on the U.S. ability to defend and if necessary, fight in space. When they return to their normal or ground state, the electrons emit photons (particles of light). 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. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. 00:38. [51], Additionally, the Russian Federation is developing various plasma weapons.[52]. They will be deployed on land vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and ships. While centuries of technological advances have improved the power of these materials, the basic operating principle of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same. Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. 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. [13]SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/abl (March 15, 2006). ", "Iran starts producing laser weapons for air defense", "Iran achieves Laser Weapon System's deflection technology", "Iran is Producing Laser Air Defense System", "Turkey's laser weapon ARMOL passes acceptance tests", "Janes | Latest defence and security news", "Turkey's laser gun passes acceptance tests", "Is Turkey the first country to shoot down a drone with a laser? It was capable of damaging or destroying fast attack boats, unmanned aerial vehicles and was used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). 10 Department of Defense, The National Defense Strategy 2018 (Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2018). [20], The Active Denial System (ADS) is a nonlethal anti-personnel DEW that uses millimeter-wavelength beams to create a painful sensation in an individual without causing actual injury. There is no injury to the target individual. 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. 3 How a Fiber Laser Works, SPI Lasers International website, available at . Each of the six laser modules were as large as small cars and the chemical storage tanks, optical benches, control equipment and piping packed the aircraft. Directional sound. 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. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. [15], Written off as impractical during World War II, technological advances have now made microwave weapons feasible. As DOD works to develop and incorporate these technologies, much of the work should be collaborative, such as improvements in materials, power generation, thermal control, etc. [57] Historians point out that the earliest accounts of the battle did not mention a "burning mirror", but merely stated that Archimedes's ingenuity combined with a way to hurl fire were relevant to the victory. Furthermore, the power of lasers and microwave weapons has decreased, allowing for nonlethal uses. Directed Energy Weapon / Targeted Individual Patents . Directed energy is a breakthrough technology whose time has come. [26] Most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not received this final stamp of approval. This causes the beam to lose focus, dissipating its power. 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/>. In addition to being able to scale effects on a target, directed energy weapons have inherent attributes that are attractive to the warfighter. [84][85], The TECOM Technology Symposium in 1997 concluded on non-lethal weapons, "determining the target effects on personnel is the greatest challenge to the testing community", primarily because "the potential of injury and death severely limits human tests". Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. By Henry Trey Obering, III In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone. According to a legend, Archimedes created a mirror with an adjustable focal length (or more likely, a series of mirrors focused on a common point) to focus sunlight on ships of the Roman fleet as they invaded Syracuse, setting them on fire. The humanitarian community is also concerned about the long-term biological effects of DEWs (microwaves in particular) and their possible use against civilian targets.[25]. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. The air-launched uses scramjets or rockets to power it throughout flight. 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. While they are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently and have very different effects. "'[68][69], In East Germany in the 1960s, many people were arrested and interrogated for holding politically incorrect views or for performing actions deemed hostile by the ruling socialist state. HPM lethality can be affected by atmospheric conditions as well, but to a much lesser degree than high-energy laser (HEL) weapons. The Air Force Research Lab's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire and high-voltage capacitors. It is developing a very high-power laser capable of being eventually deployed on a space-based platform to target missiles during their boost/ascent/midcourse phase. The number of "shots" a laser weapon can produce is limited only by its power supply. What exactly is a directed energy weapon? [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). Andrew Gudgel. The military has rhetorically embraced the wonders of DEWs, but it has not always opened its wallet to fund the technologies. Lung tissue was affected at only the closest ranges as atmospheric air is highly compressible and only the blood rich alveoli resist compression. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. In practice, the weapon was highly vulnerable to enemy fire. ), is an Executive Vice President and Directed Energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the former Director of the Missile Defense Agency. These devices have also been demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or boat motors. The historian Mary Fulbrook states, "The subsequent serious illnesses and premature deaths of dissidents such as the novelist Jrgen Fuchs, and the author of the critical analysis of 'The Alternative in Eastern Europe', Rudolf Bahro, have been linked by some to the suspicion of exposure to extraordinarily high and sustained levels of X-rays while waiting for interrogations, and being strapped to unpleasant chairs in small prison cells in front of mysterious closed boxes- boxes that, along with their mysterious apparatus, curiously disappeared after the collapse of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) system. . They are not the answer to all the challenges, and will not replace kinetic weapons, but they are an essential adjunct to countering specific threats and providing dominance in land, air, sea, and space. They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. ", "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? 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. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. As defined by Direct Energy Weapons Agency is any weapon, device or electronic that uses any kind of energy to disable, harass, assault, incapacitate another human being, an enemy's weapons, their equipment, hideouts, etc. This article will examine answers to these questions. "laser.". They are real and are maturing rapidly. They have been used on several occasions to repel pirate attacks by sending warnings and by producing intolerable levels of sound. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. [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. 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 Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device developed by Genasys (formerly LRAD Corporation) to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers, and as a non-lethal directed-acoustic-energy weapon. Building a Stryker with a 50kW laser is a follow-on to the 5kW laser the Army tested on the vehicle just a year ago in Germany at the Joint Warfighting Assessment and related efforts. Another revolution in weaponry is currently underway, with directed-energy weapons on the cusp of replacing chemical-powered weapons on the battlefield. 1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). Rifle, bazooka and mortar rounds easily deformed the parabolic reflectors, rendering the wave amplification ineffective.[64]. They seemed to have arisen from the testing of the television transmitter in Feldberg, Germany. However, the first working laser was not built until 1960, opening an entirely new avenue of directed-energy research. The MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared (IR) cameras. 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. "Bofors HPM Blackout". [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. In the 1970s and '80s it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative'[73] forces. Think of the difference between a laser pointer and a flashlight. Between 200005, a prototype chemical laser successfully destroyed 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight during field tests. [45], AESA radars mounted on fighter aircraft have been slated as directed energy weapons against missiles, however, a senior US Air Force officer noted: "they aren't particularly suited to create weapons effects on missiles because of limited antenna size, power and field of view". Much work needs to be done before DEWs are deployed. 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. [63], During the early 1940s Axis engineers developed a sonic cannon that could cause fatal vibrations in its target body. While not a rifle or gun, it is so nicknamed as it is handled in the same way as a personal rifle. 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. Albert Einstein described the theoretical underpinnings of lasers in 1917. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . 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. 15-31. The electrical shock is enough to stun personnel, detonate improvised explosive devices, or destroy electronic equipment. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. On August 24, 2004, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system destroyed a salvo of mortar rounds in midair during a test. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. PRISM Vol. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? Authors: Stupor is reported to have been used by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war. 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. Both the Allies and the Axis powers conducted basic research and studies into primitive directed-energy weapons before World War II. The Army used Navy-, and Air Force- developed HPM weapons during recent conflicts to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs). 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. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. They are not "weapons of mass destruction," but they have the potential to . low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. 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). The Axis powers conducted basic research and development explosive devices ( IEDs.... Research Lab 's Propulsion Directorate has directed energy weapons on humans using generators that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors optics... January 1996 ), at http: //www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp ( directed energy weapons on humans 15, )... Missile Defense Agency of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same technology as radar devices, or destroy electronic equipment effects! The same technology as radar devices, or destroy electronic equipment at the of! ( IEDs ) causes the beam to lose focus, dissipating its power supply in... Strategy 2018 ( Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense 2018! 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