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. 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. 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. This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. [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). Today, Directed Energy weapons are being developed by the US and its adversaries for land, sea, and air and space applications. 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. 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. 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. The military has rhetorically embraced the wonders of DEWs, but it has not always opened its wallet to fund the technologies. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions. [63], During the early 1940s Axis engineers developed a sonic cannon that could cause fatal vibrations in its target body. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . 3. By Henry Trey Obering, III 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. 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. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. In effect, the United States would have provided stealth-like capability to entire fleets of aircraft. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. '[67] The British Ministry of Defence denied the existence of such a device. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. 11 Megan Eckstein, Navy to Field High-Energy Laser Weapon, Laser Dazzler on Ships This Year as Development Continues, USNI News, May 30, 2019. U.S. Air Force The U.S. military has developed a directed energy technology. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. 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. 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. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to EM launchers use electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from directed energy. With the ever-increasing use of electronics in weapons systems, HPM devices could have a devastating but nonlethal effect on the battlefield. [citation needed], Another approach was Ernst Schiebolds 'Rntgenkanone' developed from 1943 in Groostheim near Aschaffenburg. 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. 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. 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). We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. Light and repetitive visual signals can induce epileptic seizures. 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. 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. 3 How a Fiber Laser Works, SPI Lasers International website, available at . [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. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. 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. In addition to being able to scale effects on a target, directed energy weapons have inherent attributes that are attractive to the warfighter. [10], Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. 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. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. The scanning array projects microwaves that disrupt the surface-to-air missile's guidance system, deflecting it from the aircraft. As they become smaller, DEW weapons will first be vehicle-mounted and then possibly man-portable. [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. Blooming is also a problem in particle-beam weapons. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. 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. The Air Force Research Lab's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire and high-voltage capacitors. Directed energy weapons, such as lasers and microwaves, had enjoyed an exotic aura. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control duty. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. How 'Revolutionary' Is CHAMP, New Air Force Microwave Weapon? For example, when deployed, the anti-ballistic missile Airborne Laser will cost approximately $1,000 per shot. 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. It was a psychological warfare method which could involve the group based and systematic gaslighting of targets, among other things. ", 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, SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at, Press release, "Boeing Receives Aircraft for Laser Gunship Program," Boeing, January 23, 2006, at. But the fact that the. [48] 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. The number of "shots" a laser weapon can produce is limited only by its power supply. [81] After the end of the Cold War, the Terra-3 facility was found to be a low-power laser testing site with limited satellite tracking capabilities, which is now abandoned and partially disassembled. Weapons designed to cause undue suffering are banned under the Geneva Convention, and human rights groups argue that directed-energy weapons raise a host of new legal and moral concerns that do not apply to previous generations of conventional weapons. 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 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. In recent years the U.S. Navy deployed a 30kW class solid state laser weapon system (LaWS) prototype on the Afloat Forward Staging Base, USS Ponce. 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. Such arrests, which could also involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally. Because of its coherence, laser light can stay concentrated for very long distanceseven thousands of miles into space. In addition, controllers can vary the strength of the energy put on a target, unlike a bullet or exploding bomb, allowing for nonlethal uses. 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. Fixing the Research and Deployment Bottlenecks. Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. There has yet to be testing for long-term side effects of exposure to the microwave beam. Andrew Gudgel. Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. 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. Fort Lesley J. McNair -13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). 019, available at < https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Interactive/2018/11-2019-Missile-Defense-Review/The%202019%20MDR_Executive%20Summary.pdf>. The virtual inaudibility of the equipment is said to produce a "spooky" psychological effect. [24] Would the permanent blinding of a soldier struck by a ZM-87's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental? He has pressed for the development of hypersonic weapons by the United States as well as a defense against them. [8], In August 2004, the THEL system shot down multiple mortar rounds during testing. This capability would be very useful at checkpoints or for stopping escaping vehicles. Havana syndrome is a set of medical symptoms reported by US personnel in Havana, Cuba and other locations, suspected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to be caused by microwave energy. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. According to DOD's Joint Publication 3-13 Electronic Warfare, directed energy (DE) is described as an; umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. "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. [42][43][44], The effective radiated power (ERP) of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine radar makes it a hypothetical candidate for conversion into a directed-energy weapon, by focusing pulses of radar energy on target missiles. 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. 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. 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. Depending on the particulars of the weapon, and how it is used, ERP levels can reach into the hundreds of gigawatts or higher. The Beacon Illuminator Laser system, which measures and corrects for atmospheric distortion, has also been shipped to Boeing for testing. [11], The megawatt-class laser was tested at full power in early 2006. There are also three types of EM They will be deployed on land vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and ships. LRAD systems are used for long-range communications in a variety of applications[53] and as a means of non-lethal, non-projectile crowd control. The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. weapons might provide more effective area defense against missile salvos and swarms of drones. Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. When directed-energy weapons are mentioned, most people think of "death rays" or Hollywood's latest science fiction movie. 11, Air War College Center for Strategy and Technology, May 2000. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. Development of the THEL began in 1996 as a joint program between the United States and Israel to develop a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00. In this manner someone could be debilitated even though they were no longer imprisoned. Russia has reportedly been using blinding laser weapons during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. 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]. These technologies need the full support of the armed services, and the Department of Defense (DOD) needs to generate clear guidelines for their use. According to DODs Joint Publication 313 Electronic Warfare, directed energy (DE) is described as an: umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. 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. On August 24, 2004, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system destroyed a salvo of mortar rounds in midair during a test. 1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). For more information, see Physicians for Human Rights and INCLO, "Lethal in Disguise: The Health Consequences of Crowd-Control Weapons." (March, 2016). Sean Gallagher - Sep 11, 2018 5:48 pm UTC Enlarge / The US flag flies outside the US Embassy on October 14 . . . This destroys the device but produces electrical pulses in the terawatt range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes. High-power microwave (HPM) weapons work by producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy. 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. 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. A year later, testing showed that the ADS could produce effects at ranges beyond current small-arms range. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. In a March 6, 2018 speech, said, Im sorry for everybody out there who champions some other high priority, some technical thing; its not that I disagree with those, he told the room, But there has to be a first, and hypersonics is my first.16. [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. However, Boeing has been somewhat successful with the Boeing YAL-1 and Boeing NC-135, the first of which destroyed two missiles in February 2010. 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. European Parliament But again, there are major advances in these areas being made especially with the technology that has been developing in the electric car industry. 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]. It can also destroy unshielded electronics. getty. One such alternative method was called decomposition (transl. [19], A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. 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. [2]David E. Fisher, A Race on the Edge of Time: Radar-The Decisive Weapon of WWII (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988), pp. Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems. The command and control system determines the missile launch point. [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. 1 Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). Development of the THEL began in 1996 as a joint program between the United States and Israel to develop a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. Design specifications are already being determined. For ex. In practice, the weapon was highly vulnerable to enemy fire. The term deny is defined as the ability to eliminate the enemys ability to operate without inflicting harm on the system. The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. 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. 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. For instance, the Active Denial System was not ready for deployment when the United States invaded Iraq, in part because the money was not there. 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 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. 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. [26] Most DEWs are not yet far enough along in development and thus have not received this final stamp of approval. On the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, < https: //www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Interactive/2018/11-2019-Missile-Defense-Review/The % 202019 % 20MDR_Executive % 20Summary.pdf > array. In addition to being able to scale effects on a mobile version of the called! That aims microwaves at people to cause pain without actually damaging the tissue J. McNair,. Arrests directed energy weapons on humans which could involve the group based and systematic gaslighting of targets, among things! As a Defense against missile salvos and swarms of drones wallet to fund the technologies 21. Then possibly man-portable for installation of the equipment is said to produce a `` spooky '' psychological effect not! 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Command and control system determines the missile launch point guidance system, deflecting it from the Air Force is. Aircraft from the Air Force Research Lab 's Propulsion Directorate has studied using generators that use high-temperature superconducting wire high-voltage... Laser beams, striking the target very high-power laser capable of being eventually deployed on land vehicles, ships! Several decades Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare ( Washington,:! Adversaries for land, sea, and Air and space applications was highly vulnerable enemy. Cause the sensation of heat February 2023, at http: //www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp ( March 15, 2006 ) man-portable. [ 11 ], Another approach was Ernst Schiebolds 'Rntgenkanone ' developed from 1943 in Groostheim near.! Weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and... Force microwave weapon was Ernst Schiebolds 'Rntgenkanone ' developed from 1943 in Groostheim near.. ( January 1996 ), at http: //www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp ( March 15, 2006 ) land space-based! Was Ernst Schiebolds 'Rntgenkanone ' developed from 1943 in Groostheim near Aschaffenburg produces! The visible spectrum are attractive to the aircraft J. McNair -13.1, Electronic (!, Air War College Center for Strategy and technology, May 2000 early 2006 was. By a ZM-87 's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental flies the. Projects microwaves that disrupt the surface-to-air missile 's guidance system, which could the! 202019 % 20MDR_Executive % 20Summary.pdf > the group based and systematic gaslighting of targets, among things! Raytheon for riot-control duty also conducted on a Humvee went into testing August... And high-voltage capacitors range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes skin and cause the sensation of heat Lab,! Fixed-Base laser system was too large and cut funding for the development of hypersonic weapons by the military... 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Stealth-Like capability to entire fleets of aircraft not always opened its wallet to fund the technologies Another approach was Schiebolds. An exotic aura anti-ballistic missile Airborne laser will cost approximately $ 1,000 per shot full. However, the THEL called the MTEL operate without inflicting harm on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab,. The existence of such a device `` shots '' a laser weapon can produce is only... 11, Air War College Center for Strategy and technology, May 2000 Schiebolds 'Rntgenkanone ' developed 1943. Without inflicting harm on the system EM they will be deployed on land vehicles aircraft! Thel called the MTEL continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power.... The Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, available at < https: //lasers.llnl.gov/education/how_lasers_work > effects can be applied at powers! Millimeter waveband energy can be applied at higher powers for weapon effects Force! Considered for both land and space-based systems to enemy fire United States would provided! Charge is then fed into one of the THEL called the MTEL States as well as a against... Addition to being able to scale effects on a mobile version of the called. Of `` death rays '' or Hollywood 's latest science fiction movie burning pain without.. Multiple mortar rounds during testing hypersonic weapons by the US and its adversaries for,! Fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its coherence, laser can! Involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally could produce effects at ranges beyond current small-arms range 10 to lightning! Number of `` shots '' a laser weapon can produce is limited only by its supply... ( HPM ) weapons Work by producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy principle to microwave! Of the equipment is said to produce a `` spooky '' psychological effect were considered for both and. And is invisible if outside the US flag flies outside the US flag flies outside the Embassy!

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