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. This plan includes a program which aims to test high energy lasers on aircraft against surface to air and air to air missile threats. Andrew Gudgel, a former Army Warrant Officer, is currently a freelance writer. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. 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. When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. , 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 megawatt-class laser was tested at full power in early 2006. 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. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. However, the first working laser was not built until 1960, opening an entirely new avenue of directed-energy research. 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. 79, No. The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. (Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2018). In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone. In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone.[7]. [15]Colonel Craig Hughes, Office of Force Transformation, U.S. Department of Defense, "Re-directed Energy: the Tactical Relay Mirror System," presentation at The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., February 13, 2006. 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. The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmosphere, which conducts electricity. [79][80] However, this story is comprehensively denied by the crew members of STS-41-G and knowledgeable members of the US intelligence community. Most HPM systems are based on short pulses of radiofrequency (RF) energy, for which peak power is the important metric. 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. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. The Rheotron was captured by the Americans in Burggrub on April 14, 1945. The power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. It stated that it did have, however, an 'ultra-loud public address system which [] could be "used for verbal communication over two miles, or put out a sustained or modulated sound blanket to make conversation, and thus crowd organisation, impossible. 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. [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. In a much more dramatic application, the recently released Missile Defense Review (MDR), the first update to U.S. Missile Defense Strategy in nearly a decade, delivers a visionary plan to protect the United States from ever-intensifying threats around the world. 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]. 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 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. Vigilant Eagle is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. (Invented by Max Steenbeck at Siemens-Schuckert in the 1930s, these were later called Betatrons by the Americans.) European Parliament However, a stronger counterargument is that directed-energy weapons, especially lasers, are more humane than conventional weapons because they can strike pinpoint targets, thus causing less collateral damage. [19], A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. Directed energy system is further defined by the STOA document: "Directed energy weapon system designed to match radio frequency source to interfere with human brain activity at synapse level" (at the bottom of the page, first reference, Appendix 6-67). The meaning of degrade is to remove the enemys ability to operate and to potentially inflict minimal injury on electronic hardware systems. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. , 2019, available at . The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. It has been claimed that the USSR made use of the lasers at the Terra-3 site to target the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. 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. [17], Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). The laser diodes, fiber amplifiers, battery and power management, thermal control, and optical systems are also much more advanced. 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 In Focus discusses a selection of 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. 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. 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. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. [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). 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. They built an electron accelerator called Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). For other uses, see, Northern Ireland "squawk box" field trials. The Pentagon believes that DEWs are legal under international law, but human rights groups are arguing that DEWs could be used inhumanely. [1] They may begin to appear on the battlefield within the next decade, bringing a revolution in weapons and how war is waged. Colonel Craig Hughes, Office of Force Transformation, U.S. Department of Defense, "Re-directed Energy: the Tactical Relay Mirror System," presentation at The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., February 13, 2006. The release noted the HPM and HEL systems engaged and defeated dozens of unmanned aerial system targets during the exercise.14. Alane Kochems Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. 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. In 1935, the British Air Ministry asked Robert Watson-Watt of the Radio Research Station whether a "death ray" was possible. For example, atmospheric conditions such as turbulence, haze, clouds, etc. Early reports claimed that this was responsible for causing "malfunctions on the space shuttle and distress to the crew", and that the United States filed a diplomatic protest about the incident. [45] The energy spikes are tailored to enter missiles through antennae or sensor apertures where they can fool guidance systems, scramble computer memories or even burn out sensitive electronic components. They can not only achieve these speeds but can maneuver at them as well including varying trajectories, headings and altitudes. Fort Lesley J. McNair The countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable. They were seen as tools for destroying ICBMs and drones, or for dispersing rioters. 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 armed services need to move from just saying that DEWs are a good idea to fully supporting their development. [4] Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. Between 200005, a prototype chemical laser successfully destroyed 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight during field tests. 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. [18]Carlo Kopp, "The Electromagnetic Bomb-A Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1996/apjemp.htm (March 15, 2006). This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. 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. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. 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. [61][62], Stories in the 1930s and World War Two gave rise to the idea of an "engine-stopping ray". 3 How a Fiber Laser Works, SPI Lasers International website, available at . 10 Department of Defense, The National Defense Strategy 2018 (Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2018). "Raytheon focuses on non-lethal weapons", Andrew Johnson. But let us broaden these applications somewhat. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. . [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. They are real and are maturing rapidly. Authors: The system consists of a missile-detecting and tracking subsystem (MDT), a command and control system, and a scanning array. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. 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. He has pressed for the development of hypersonic weapons by the United States as well as a defense against them. 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. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . Among the directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Gans and Fritz Houtermans. 1, Air War College Center for Strategy and Technology, May 2000. Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. HPM lethality can be affected by atmospheric conditions as well, but to a much lesser degree than high-energy laser (HEL) weapons. [23]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 http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=89438 (March 15, 2006). PRISM Vol. Informally, the weapon is also called the heat ray since it works by heating the surface of targets, such as the skin of targeted human beings. In early versions of laser weapons, the light was generated by chemical reactions. 1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. EM launchers use electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from directed energy. "Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program,", Richard M. Roberds, Ph.D., "Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon,", GlobalSecurity.org, "Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)," at, Bill Gertz, "N. Korea Fired Laser at Troops,", "Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program. [38] The device comes in various sizes, including attached to a Humvee. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. 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]. ", "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? The U.S. Army confirmed in June that it is accelerating efforts to field a directed-energy weapon prototype by 2022. The brave men and women who confront dangerous threats across all physical domainsland, air, sea, and spaceneed nothing less than the worlds most promising new capabilities to protect U.S. national security. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? Retrieved 2010-01-04. 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. low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. [21]U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "Active Denial System," fact sheet, September 2005, at http://www.de.afrl.af.mil/Factsheets/ActiveDenial.swf (March 15, 2006). 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. Andrew Gudgel. Design specifications are already being determined. [19]GlobalSecurity.org, "High Power Microwave (HPM)/E-Bomb," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm (March 15, 2006). What are the challenges and next steps? The lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. Electrical blooming occurs only in charged particle beams, as ions of like charge repel one another. Moreover, cheap countermeasures can be applied to existing missiles. 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. Neither should we. A possible future development is the electrolaser. Types and magnitudes of exposure to electromagnetic fields are unknown.[78]. There are numerous pathways and entry points through which microwave energy can penetrate electronic systems. There is no injury to the target individual. [citation needed]. Increasing laser power and improving the beam quality can also help to mitigate atmospheric effects in many cases. We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. DEWs use the electromagnetic spectrum (light and radio energy) to attack pinpoint targets at the speed of light. However, current research focuses on using them as a means of nonlethal area defense and as anti-electronic weapons rather than as "death rays.". They have been used on several occasions to repel pirate attacks by sending warnings and by producing intolerable levels of sound. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. Mounted on properly shielded aircraft or ships, or dropped in single-use "e-bombs," HPM weapons could destroy enemy radars, anti-aircraft installations, and communications and computer networks and even defend against incoming anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. 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. It suggested that lasers, perhaps space-based X-ray lasers, could destroy ICBMs in flight. Magnus Karlsson (2009). 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. from PrayingMedic: Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 VIDEO: [71] The negative effects of the radiation poisoning and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration. [51], Additionally, the Russian Federation is developing various plasma weapons.[52]. The virus that causes COVID-19 most likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory, according to a classified report based on new intelligence and recently sent to the White House and key members . One such alternative method was called decomposition (transl. [49], Both Russia and Ukraine are reported to use these devices during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. When they return to their normal or ground state, the electrons emit photons (particles of light). However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. 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. Think of the difference between a laser pointer and a flashlight. two directional speakers emitting 16,000 Hz and 16,002 Hz frequencies would produce in the ear two frequencies of 32,002 Hz and 2 Hz. It stresses the heart, causes insomnia, completely prevents deep sleep, and causes severe muscle aches. The pain forces the person to flee the area. The Beacon Illuminator Laser system, which measures and corrects for atmospheric distortion, has also been shipped to Boeing for testing. [5]Suzann Chapman, "The Airborne Laser," Air Force Magazine, Vol. 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 short, intense bursts of energy produced by HPM devices damage equipment without injuring personnel. Another power source, well-suited to one-time use in an e-bomb, is the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generator (EPFCG). A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. Laser weapons potentially eliminate many logistical problems in terms of ammunition supply, as long as there is enough energy to power them. 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. Lasers can be categorized as gas, solid state, or a hybrid of the two. Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. 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. Richert Seifert & Co from Hamburg delivered parts. 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