[1]On August 24, 2004, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system destroyed a salvo of mortar rounds in midair during a test. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. 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. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. Depending on the particulars of the weapon, and how it is used, ERP levels can reach into the hundreds of gigawatts or higher. "laser.". 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. Examples include damaging individual components, circuit cards, or the mother boards in a desktop computer. 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. 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. can affect a lasers performance but there are ways to address these phenomena. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. [13]SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/abl (March 15, 2006). When the LaWS was being integrated onto the ship, the designers and developers envisioned that it would be used several hours a day. [6]GlobalSecurity.org, "Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/patriot-ac-3.htm (March 15, 2006). Discrete, mission-aligned efforts will maintain our pace of development in the race to get these technologies to the field. In the later phases of World War II, Nazi Germany increasingly put its hopes on research into technologically revolutionary secret weapons, the Wunderwaffe. ), is an Executive Vice President and Directed Energy Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton and the former Director of the Missile Defense Agency. 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. When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface. While some uses may be illegal (e.g., targeting an unarmed civilian who in no way poses a threat), other uses are just as assuredly legal and legitimate. 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. However, a variety of optical methods can be used to correct for blooming. 8, No. Electronic devices can be shielded by putting conductive metal cages around them; however, enough microwave energy may still get through the shielding to damage the device. One problem that affects laser beam strength is a phenomenon known as "blooming," which occurs when the laser beam heats the atmosphere through which it is passing, turning the air into plasma. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? The technology is maturing rapidly, threats are emerging which directed energy can almost uniquely address, and the warfighters are signaling their support. [30][31] After decades of research and development, most directed-energy weapons are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons.[32][33]. HPM lethality can be affected by atmospheric conditions as well, but to a much lesser degree than high-energy laser (HEL) weapons. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. They were seen as tools for destroying ICBMs and drones, or for dispersing rioters. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. For example, atmospheric conditions such as turbulence, haze, clouds, etc. They can destroy, degrade or blind many other systems that contain sensors and electronics. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. 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. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. For example, in 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit used a sonic weapon to defend itself from Somali pirates in the Indian ocean. These systems of missile defense are expected to come online no sooner than the mid to late-2020s. Design specifications are already being determined. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. Think of the difference between a laser pointer and a flashlight. 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. 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. So hypersonic kinetic interceptors would have to be capable of achieving speeds of Mach 15 and higher. A possible future development is the electrolaser. 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). 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. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. [88], Media related to Directed-energy weapons at Wikimedia Commons, This article is about real uses of directed energy weapons. In the late Middle Ages, a revolution in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered (gunpowder) weapons began to replace swords and bows. 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. Directed energy weapons, such as lasers and microwaves, had enjoyed an exotic aura. The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. 3 How a Fiber Laser Works, SPI Lasers International website, available at . [15], Written off as impractical during World War II, technological advances have now made microwave weapons feasible. The power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. [21], A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. ", "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. Retrieved 2010-01-04. from PrayingMedic: Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 VIDEO: 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. Particle-beam weapons can use charged or neutral particles, and can be either endoatmospheric or exoatmospheric. The Beacon Illuminator Laser system, which measures and corrects for atmospheric distortion, has also been shipped to Boeing for testing. 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. While centuries of technological advances have improved the power of these materials, the basic operating principle of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same. It is relatively close to deployment. 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. (It had little detectable effect on malleable organs such as the heart, stomach and intestines.) 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]. 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. In August 2004, the THEL system shot down multiple mortar rounds during testing. Challenges remain in terms of the size, weight and power input requirements of todays laser systems, especially in the thermal control and power management subsystems. Light and repetitive visual signals can induce epileptic seizures. For other uses, see, Northern Ireland "squawk box" field trials. 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. In addition, controllers can vary the strength of the energy put on a target, unlike a bullet or exploding bomb, allowing for nonlethal uses. There has yet to be testing for long-term side effects of exposure to the microwave beam. What are the challenges and next steps? 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. [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). Because of its coherence, laser light can stay concentrated for very long distanceseven thousands of miles into space. [19]GlobalSecurity.org, "High Power Microwave (HPM)/E-Bomb," at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm (March 15, 2006). 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. [6], Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. As the Pentagon addresses these issues, it should do so in the same way that it would for any other category of weapon that it has reviewed. While not a rifle or gun, it is so nicknamed as it is handled in the same way as a personal rifle. [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). Raytheon had marketed a reduced-range version of this technology. [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. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. For example, when deployed, the anti-ballistic missile Airborne Laser will cost approximately $1,000 per shot. 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. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. 9 Eileen Walling, High Power Microwaves, Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare, Occasional Paper no. In the 1951 science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, powerful ray guns are shown vaporizing rifles and even tanks. While DEWs are not a panacea, the armed services should fully support research and development of these useful technologies. 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. This sound, magnified by the dish reflectors, caused vertigo and nausea at 200400 meters (220440yd) by vibrating the middle ear bones and shaking the cochlear fluid within the inner ear. Much work needs to be done before DEWs are deployed. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. [48] The two U.S. laser weapons systems closest to actual deployment are the Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) and the Airborne Laser (ABL). The lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. [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). 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. . Adversaries are not waiting to develop directed energy weapons. The system consists of a missile-detecting and tracking subsystem (MDT), a command and control system, and a scanning array. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. Other members of a crowd are unaffected, except by panic when they see people fainting, being sick, or running from the scene with their hands over their ears. However, these lasers were generally large and heavy. The pain forces the person to flee the area. This technology delivers very high-frequency millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic rays that heat skin on contact, causing a painful burning sensation. There is no silver bullet defense against these weapons and in fact there will have to be an architectural approach in defending against them, but directed energy weapons can potentially play a major role. 12 Jen Judson, U.S. 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. Existing directed-energy weapons are in the range of tens of thousands of kilowatts: the American ADS fires a 100kW millimetre-wave beam which can cause burns to the skin; the Turkish ALKA dual EM/laser system for use against combat vehicles reportedly has a power of 50kW; the LAWS laser weapon generated 33kW during testing; and Dynetics and . umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. For more information, see Physicians for Human Rights and INCLO, "Lethal in Disguise: The Health Consequences of Crowd-Control Weapons." (March, 2016). 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. The Armys Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is now asked to make DE technology available to the warfighters as quickly as possible. A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. 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]. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. However, considerable work still needs to be done before they can be deployed. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. [86], Also, "directed-energy weapons that target the central nervous system and cause neurophysiological disorders may violate the Certain Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980. Among the directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Gans and Fritz Houtermans. 2 According to the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. [2], 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. 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. [46] Potentially lethal effects are produced only inside 100 meters range, and disruptive effects at distances on the order of one kilometer. [59][60] He and colleague Arnold Wilkins quickly concluded that it was not feasible, but as a consequence suggested using radio for the detection of aircraft and this started the development of radar in Britain. A microwave weapon can achieve this result by causing malfunctions within certain relay and processing circuits within the enemy target system. 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. While directed-energy research is advancing, inadequate funding is hindering more rapid development and deployment of these technologies. 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. Rounds during testing is now asked to make DE technology available to the warfighters are signaling their support weapons use! Swords and bows, powerful ray guns are shown vaporizing rifles and even tanks the number ``... 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