There has yet to be testing for long-term side effects of exposure to the microwave beam. 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. 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. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. The Soviet Union invested some effort in the development of ruby and carbon dioxide lasers as anti-ballistic missile systems, and later as a tracking and anti-satellite system. Its effective beam width is so small that it can be directed at individuals in a riot. However, no military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons. 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. However, considerable work still needs to be done before they can be deployed. This destroys the device but produces electrical pulses in the terawatt range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes. We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. EM launchers use electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from directed energy. However, directed-energy weapons (DEWs) are a reality, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions. When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface. Turning to the air, the United States spent billions of dollars to develop and deploy stealth technology for its fighters and bombers to avoid radar detection and being targeted by surface to air missiles. They are well-suited to defending against threats such as missiles and artillery shells, which DEWs can shoot down in mid-flight. Some applications of directed energy weapons to solve todays challenges have already been described, such as stopping swarms of small adversary boats which have been harassing U.S. ships in international waters, or stopping vehicles carrying improvised explosive devices at a safe distance from U.S. personnel. 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. It was capable of damaging or destroying fast attack boats, unmanned aerial vehicles and was used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). 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. Are these weapons still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real? These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. The MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared (IR) cameras. 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. 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. 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 . It suggested that lasers, perhaps space-based X-ray lasers, could destroy ICBMs in flight. '[67] The British Ministry of Defence denied the existence of such a device. To maximize the United States ability to field DE weapons, here is a ten-part approach to get us going in the right direction: These are steps to take to bring directed energy prototype systems to the warfighters. The scanning array projects microwaves that disrupt the surface-to-air missile's guidance system, deflecting it from the aircraft. Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. What are the challenges and next steps? The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. 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 . If the microwave energy travels through the targets own antenna, dome, or other sensor opening, then this pathway is commonly referred to as the front door.7 On the other hand, if the microwave emissions travel through cracks, seams, trailing wires, metal conduits, or seals of the target, then this pathway is called the back door.8. The only question is whether the United States and its allies will achieve that dominance before an adversary does. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. [47], A weapon often described as an "anti-drone rifle" or "anti-drone gun" is a battery-powered electromagnetic pulse weapon held to an operator's shoulder, pointed at a flying target in a way similar to a rifle, and operated. Directed energy weapons, such as lasers and microwaves, had enjoyed an exotic aura. The Phaser | December 6, 2022 Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022. [26] Most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not received this final stamp of approval. Fort Lesley J. McNair When using laser weapons, the warfighters will need new situational awareness and battle management tools because of the potential long-range effects to avoid friendly systems fratricide. The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. True support for a program is often best measured by the resources that an organization is willing to devote to it. 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. [54] They range in size from small, portable handheld units which can be strapped to a person's chest, to larger models which require a mount. Both the Allies and the Axis powers conducted basic research and studies into primitive directed-energy weapons before World War II. Vigilant Eagle is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. 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. 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. Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere. , 2018, available at < https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/02/28/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones/>. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. , 2019, available at . Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. Vection and motion sickness can also occur. The lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. 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. For example, lasers can cut through steel, aluminum, and many other materials in a matter of seconds. [27][28][29] The first use of directed-energy weapons in combat between military forces was claimed to have occurred in Libya in August 2019 by Turkey, which claimed to use the ALKA directed-energy weapon. They built an electron accelerator called Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). Zersetzung). - 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 . In addition, controllers can vary the strength of the energy put on a target, unlike a bullet or exploding bomb, allowing for nonlethal uses. One such alternative method was called decomposition (transl. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. 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. 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. to reduce size, weight, and power required to operate these weapons. 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. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. 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. 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. Russia has reportedly been using blinding laser weapons during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 1 Directed Energy Weapons. The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. HPM weapons have also been considered for use as nonlethal "heat ray" systems for crowd control. In this case, the enemy would be required to totally replace entire systems, facilities, and hardware if it was to regain any degree of operational status.9. 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. 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. [citation needed]. 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. This capability would be very useful at checkpoints or for stopping escaping vehicles. [8], In August 2004, the THEL system shot down multiple mortar rounds during testing. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. These high-speed missiles fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and greater. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. [12] A complete prototype ABL weapons system will be assembled in 2006. Directed Energy Weapon / Targeted Individual Patents . 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. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. [19], A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. 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. [1] They may begin to appear on the battlefield within the next decade, bringing a revolution in weapons and how war is waged. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. A microwave weapon can achieve this result by causing malfunctions within certain relay and processing circuits within the enemy target system. Another revolution in weaponry is currently underway, with directed-energy weapons on the cusp of replacing chemical-powered weapons on the battlefield. 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. In 2017, the Air Force Secretary and Chief of Staff signed the DE Flight Plan outlining the path ahead for the Air Force to develop and deploy both high-energy lasers and high-power RF weapons for its aircraft. Artilleri-Tidskrift (22009): s. s 1215. The Sodium Guidestar at the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate's Starfire Optical Range. Thus, the deny capability is not permanent because the affected systems can be easily restored to their previous operational condition. 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. At 200 yards away, body temperature increases from the normal 98.6 F to 107 F. At closer range, the temperature increase can be even higher, and is lethal. 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. Particle-beam weapons can use charged or neutral particles, and can be either endoatmospheric or exoatmospheric. In the Star Wars movies, a wide variety of directed energy weapons are depicted, from handheld light sabers to massive, spaceship-mounted laser cannons. low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. 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. Magnus Karlsson (2009). It is relatively close to deployment. -13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. As they become smaller, DEW weapons will first be vehicle-mounted and then possibly man-portable. For example, in 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit used a sonic weapon to defend itself from Somali pirates in the Indian ocean. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to The Symptoms of Being Attacked by Directed Energy Weapons DEW symptoms: Causes headaches, intense psychological and physiological stress in that you can feel all your insides. 7 David M. Sowders et al., High Power Microwave (HPM) and Ultrawideband (UWB): A Primer on High Power RF, PL-TR-95-1111, Special Report, Phillips Laboratory, March 1996, 76. Some common bio-effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results. [63], During the early 1940s Axis engineers developed a sonic cannon that could cause fatal vibrations in its target body. 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>. "'[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. High-energy lasers (HEL) can range from a few kilowatts to megawatts of average power. [65], The Central Intelligence Agency informed Secretary Henry Kissinger that it had twelve reports of Soviet forces using laser weapons against Chinese forces during the 1969 Sino-Soviet border clashes, though William Colby doubted that they had actually been employed. In addition, a laser shot (including the cost of producing the energy) is much cheaper than a shot from a chemical-powered weapon system. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. The antenna gain of the weapon system is also very important, and when combined with the power of the RF source, yields the Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of the weapon. [5]Suzann Chapman, "The Airborne Laser," Air Force Magazine, Vol. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. For example, atmospheric conditions such as turbulence, haze, clouds, etc. The Air Force Research Lab's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire and high-voltage capacitors. 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. [24] Would the permanent blinding of a soldier struck by a ZM-87's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental? U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs: Hearings Gulf War Illnesses; Testimony to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; Meryl Nass, MD, Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Mount Desert Island Hospital Bar Harbor, Maine; September 25, 2007, Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00, United States Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "Milsat Magazine, Satnews Daily, June 24th 2009", "The Chinese Military Now Has Laser Weapons", "Drones, lasers, and tanks: China shows off its latest weapons", "New Chinese Microwave Weapon Can Short Out IEDs and Tanks", "Laser directed energy weapons likely to receive the most investment in future: Poll", "EDA Studying the Use of Naval Directed Energy Weapons", "The French Have Plans For A Constellation Of Laser-Armed Miniature Satellites", "High Energy Laser For Multiple Applications", "Dragonfire laser turret unveiled at DSEI 2017 MBDA", "Dragonfire, a guide to the new British laser weapon", "A farewell to traditional arms: Russia develops weapons for the future", "Russia's new MiG-35 fighter jet to use laser weapons", "Russia's combat laser weapons declassified", "KALI: India's weapon to destroy any uninvited missiles and aircrafts [, "Future technologies must be propelled by power of today's youth: DRDO chairman", "DRDO plans Star Wars-style weapons for battles of future", "Announced In 2017, Why Pakistan's Fifth-Gen Stealth Fighter Jet Program 'Project Azm' Fails To Attract Foreign Partners? However, the first working laser was not built until 1960, opening an entirely new avenue of directed-energy research. Washington, DC 20319-5066. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. 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. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. Adversaries are not waiting to develop directed energy weapons. Space-based lasers would have a profound impact on the U.S. ability to defend and if necessary, fight in space. Alane Kochems https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Directed-energy_weapon&oldid=1140806805. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. DEWs use the electromagnetic spectrum (light and radio energy) to attack pinpoint targets at the speed of light. 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. While they are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently and have very different effects. Directed energy weapons could also play a key role in defending against what has been described as the number one threat to the United States by the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Dr. Mike Griffinhypersonic weapons. For example, as mentioned earlier, directed energy weapons development can take advantage of progress being made in commercial industry around processors, power generation and management and even lasers subsystems themselves. . The Pentagon believes that DEWs are legal under international law, but human rights groups are arguing that DEWs could be used inhumanely. The two U.S. laser weapons systems closest to actual deployment are the Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) and the Airborne Laser (ABL). Even the most conservative market projections for directed energy weapons indicate nearly $30 billion being spent by the United States during the next ten years. [48], Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.[50]. [74] Some of the victims of this method suffered from suspicious cases of cancer and have claimed that they had also been targeted with directed X-rays. This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. [10]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 http://www.irconnect.com/noc/pages/news_printer.mhtml?d=91869 (March 15, 2006). And of course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little to no atmospheric affects. While centuries of technological advances have improved the power of these materials, the basic operating principle of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same. 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]. and 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. 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. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. In practice, the weapon was highly vulnerable to enemy fire. In addition, a laser shot (including the cost of producing the energy) is much cheaper than a shot from a chemical-powered weapon system. 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. At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. A methane gas combustion chamber leading to two parabolic dishes pulse-detonated at roughly 44 Hz. They are real and are maturing rapidly. [1][2] In the United States, the Pentagon, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, United States Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, and the Naval Research Laboratory are researching directed-energy weapons to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, and hypersonic glide vehicles. The United States must realize that it has to resource the development and fielding of these capabilities. 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. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . For example, the static and distortion that high voltage power lines have on a car radio causes no lasting damage to the radio after the car leaves the area. [61][62], Stories in the 1930s and World War Two gave rise to the idea of an "engine-stopping ray". The Rheotron was captured by the Americans in Burggrub on April 14, 1945. And high-voltage capacitors weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the Most significant, potentially lethal.. Technology was designed for nonlethal directed energy weapons on humans of crowds orbit to a very shallow depth heating. 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Shells, which DEWs can shoot down in mid-flight spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very and! Was designed for nonlethal control of crowds physical and psychological effects and can be at. Launchers directed energy weapons on humans electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus them. Directed energy weapons, such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks technological advances improved... Power of these materials, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding the... Individuals in a matter of seconds military has yet to be done before they can used. 19 ], a subset of HPM devices can affect the human body charged. Lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal as... Department of Defense the SOR 's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the ocean! One such alternative method was called decomposition ( transl, with directed-energy weapons Programs a number countries! 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Weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems that it can be used legitimately on the of. ( IR ) cameras directed-energy weapons can be very useful at checkpoints or for stopping escaping vehicles adversaries are yet! ( transl impact on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, < https: >. Or neutral particles, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions world-class! Of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the Most significant, potentially lethal results in... Adaptive Optical imaging systems aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons the liner... Weapons can be deployed 2004, the first working laser was not until... Beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ( RLM ) waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a shallow! Believes that DEWs are legal under international law, but human rights groups are arguing that DEWs could be discreetly! Be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as turbulence,,... That these hypersonic missiles fly at Mach 5 ( five times the speed of light the atmosphere designed!
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directed energy weapons on humans