1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). However, these lasers were generally large and heavy. 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 . 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. However, as with the development of any unprecedented military capability, there are risks, challenges and limitations involving their cost, schedule and performance. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. This plan includes a program which aims to test high energy lasers on aircraft against surface to air and air to air missile threats. [1] They may begin to appear on the battlefield within the next decade, bringing a revolution in weapons and how war is waged. 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. [21], A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. This destroys the device but produces electrical pulses in the terawatt range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes. Directed energy weapons are no longer just science fiction. (Courtesy photo), The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, or HEL MD, is the result of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command research (U.S. Army), The premier professional military and academic publishing house. So how close are they to becoming weaponized? The system consists of a missile-detecting and tracking subsystem (MDT), a command and control system, and a scanning array. 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. [71] The negative effects of the radiation poisoning and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. There has yet to be testing for long-term side effects of exposure to the microwave beam. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. DEWs send energy, instead of matter, toward a target, and can be separated into three types: laser weapons, particle-beam weapons, and high-power microwave (HPM) or ra-dio-frequency (RF) weapons. A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. The Defense Department is developing directed energy weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a way designed to achieve optimal outcomes. High-power microwave (HPM) weapons work by producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. 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. In addition, a technique known as adaptive optics has been developed for many years. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. 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>. [45], AESA radars mounted on fighter aircraft have been slated as directed energy weapons against missiles, however, a senior US Air Force officer noted: "they aren't particularly suited to create weapons effects on missiles because of limited antenna size, power and field of view". The number of "shots" a laser weapon can produce is limited only by its power supply. At the speeds that these hypersonic missiles fly, they have vulnerabilities which could be exploited by directed energy weapons. Alane Kochems This capability would be very useful at checkpoints or for stopping escaping vehicles. Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. In addition to being able to scale effects on a target, directed energy weapons have inherent attributes that are attractive to the warfighter. Raytheon had marketed a reduced-range version of this technology. DEWs use the electromagnetic spectrum (light and radio energy) to attack pinpoint targets at the speed of light. A composite image of a satellite firing an energy weapon at a target on Earth. Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated yet. 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). [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]. [55] The power of the sound beam which LRADs produce is sufficient to penetrate vehicles and buildings while retaining a high degree of fidelity, so that verbal messages can be conveyed clearly in some situations. According to a legend, Archimedes created a mirror with an adjustable focal length (or more likely, a series of mirrors focused on a common point) to focus sunlight on ships of the Roman fleet as they invaded Syracuse, setting them on fire. The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. [13]SPG Media, "ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA," at http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/abl (March 15, 2006). There is no injury to the target individual. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. 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. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. Electrolasers make use of laser bloom, a normally undesired effect. While directed-energy research is advancing, inadequate funding is hindering more rapid development and deployment of these technologies. Depending on several operational factors, directed-energy weapons may be cheaper to operate than conventional weapons in certain contexts. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. 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. The U.S. military has developed a directed energy technology that shoots beams of a slightly longer wavelength in a focused area over distances up to a mile. [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. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. [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 fact, the megawatt-class Airborne Laser developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s required an entire 747 aircraft to hold the equipment. 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. This is just the beginning of a plan to deploy 50kW lasers on four of its Stryker vehicles over the next few years for operational use.12, A fire support noncommissioned officer with 4th Division Artillery, 4th Infantry Division, who participated in the testing of a 2kW version of the laser vehicle at Fort Sill, Oklahoma against unmanned drones was quoted in a February 28, 2018 Army Times article as saying, It was extremely efficient, I was able to bring them down as [fast as] they were able to put them up.13. It suggested that lasers, perhaps space-based X-ray lasers, could destroy ICBMs in flight. These devices have also been demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or boat motors. 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. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. Particle-beam weapons can use charged or neutral particles, and can be either endoatmospheric or exoatmospheric. In early versions of laser weapons, the light was generated by chemical reactions. Examples include damaging individual components, circuit cards, or the mother boards in a desktop computer. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. There are two types of hypersonic weapons, boost glide and air-launched high-speed cruise missiles. [8]"Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program.". Design specifications are already being determined. "Raytheon focuses on non-lethal weapons", Andrew Johnson. [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. 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 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. The Ukrainian army are reported to use the Ukrainian KVS G-6, with a 3.5km range and able to operate continuously for 30 minutes. 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. 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. Increasing laser power and improving the beam quality can also help to mitigate atmospheric effects in many cases. One of the greatest attributes of directed energy weapons is that they operate at the speed of light. In addition, controllers can vary the strength of the energy put on a target, unlike a bullet or exploding bomb, allowing for nonlethal uses. 8, No. 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. True support for a program is often best measured by the resources that an organization is willing to devote to it. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. [41] Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon's Web site in 2022. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. 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. When the LaWS was being integrated onto the ship, the designers and developers envisioned that it would be used several hours a day. Fixing the Research and Deployment Bottlenecks. This article will examine answers to these questions. Does the mere use of a weapon that can cause permanent blindness constitute inflicting undue suffering? Laser energy can be generated as a continuous wave or in pulses, which also influences its lethality. [4] Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. 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. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. 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. He has pressed for the development of hypersonic weapons by the United States as well as a defense against them. Types and magnitudes of exposure to electromagnetic fields are unknown.[78]. In the 1970s and '80s it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative'[73] forces. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. At higher energy levels, the microwaves can permanently "burn out" equipment, much as a close lightning strike could. 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. They could therefore avoid there being any evidence of repression or at least limit it. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. The destructive power of directed energy weapons (their lethality) derives from the amount of energy transferred to the target over time. 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 practice, the weapon was highly vulnerable to enemy fire. But there is a rule of thumb that states that an interceptor needs to be capable of three times the speed of the target it is defending against to be able to maneuver to destroy it. 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. [63], During the early 1940s Axis engineers developed a sonic cannon that could cause fatal vibrations in its target body. 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. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. 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 . National Defense University In the later phases of World War II, Nazi Germany increasingly put its hopes on research into technologically revolutionary secret weapons, the Wunderwaffe. 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. 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. The United States will soon be reaching the point where it can generate a megawatt of power in a size, weight, and volume capable of being put on a high-altitude aircraft or space-based platform. The pain forces the person to flee the area. 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. [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. [13], 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. They were seen as tools for destroying ICBMs and drones, or for dispersing rioters. Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . The armed services need to move from just saying that DEWs are a good idea to fully supporting their development. In the late Middle Ages, a revolution in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered (gunpowder) weapons began to replace swords and bows. PRISM Vol. [7]Bill Gertz, "N. Korea Fired Laser at Troops," The Washington Times, May 13, 2003, at http://newsmine.org/archive/war-on-terror/north-korea/nkorea-fired-laser-at-troops.txt (March 15, 2006). The first step in this endeavor is underway with funding for laser scaling and beam quality improvements for both combined fiber lasers as well as hybrid lasers such as the diode pumped alkali laser or DPALS. 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. In addition, while you are firing on one power source, you can be charging another for near continuous operation. Because the laser energy travels at the speed of light, lasers are particularly well-suited for use against moving targets such as rockets, missiles, and artillery projectiles. Zersetzung). The release noted the HPM and HEL systems engaged and defeated dozens of unmanned aerial system targets during the exercise.14. 1 Directed Energy Weapons. 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). U.S. Air Force The U.S. military has developed a directed energy technology. [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). Today, solid state electrical (including fiber) and hybrid lasers are being developed that are much lighter and smaller. 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. A prototype ADS system mounted on a Humvee went into testing in August 2005.[22]. But the fact that the. [9], The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. Such arrests, which could also involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally. During the Iraq War, electromagnetic weapons, including high power microwaves, were used by the U.S. military to disrupt and destroy Iraqi electronic systems and may have been used for crowd control. In contrast, ordinary visible light comprises multiple wavelengths and is not coherent. [5]Suzann Chapman, "The Airborne Laser," Air Force Magazine, Vol. HPM weapon technology is based on the same technology as radar devices, which already have a long history of research and development. [56] Their weapons capability has been controversially used in the USA to disrupt numerous protests. As they become smaller, DEW weapons will first be vehicle-mounted and then possibly man-portable. Andrew Gudgel, a former Army Warrant Officer, is currently a freelance writer. 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. However, the first working laser was not built until 1960, opening an entirely new avenue of directed-energy research. [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. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. This damage may create permanent effects depending upon the severity of the attack and the ability of the enemy to diagnose, replace, or repair the affected systems. These systems of missile defense are expected to come online no sooner than the mid to late-2020s. Laser light can be produced by a number of different methods, ranging from rods of chemically doped glass to energetic chemical reactions to semiconductors. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. They seemed to have arisen from the testing of the television transmitter in Feldberg, Germany. They are not "weapons of mass destruction," but they have the potential to . 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. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. On 10 October 1984 (STS-41-G), the Terra-3 tracking laser was allegedly aimed at Challenger as it passed over the facility. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. Examples of this cited earlier included the Airborne Laser, the Navys LaWS program, and others. This laser would be megawatt class and have a range of hundreds of miles. 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. -Alane Kochems is a Policy Analyst for National Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. from PrayingMedic: Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 VIDEO: This destroys the device but produces electrical pulses in the terawatt range-the equivalent of 10 to 1,000 lightning strikes. "'[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. There is no injury to the target individual. In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone.[7]. They can not only achieve these speeds but can maneuver at them as well including varying trajectories, headings and altitudes. For fictional uses, see, "DEW" redirects here. Putting the proper protocols in place should mitigate these concerns. 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. [24] Would the permanent blinding of a soldier struck by a ZM-87's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental? The United States cannot allow itself to fall behind in yet another area of warfighting as has happened in hypersonics. However, no military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons. The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. The air-launched uses scramjets or rockets to power it throughout flight. The soldier returned a short time later to say that the engine would now work and the tourists drove off. But let us broaden these applications somewhat. [46] Potentially lethal effects are produced only inside 100 meters range, and disruptive effects at distances on the order of one kilometer. 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. 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. 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. The Beacon Illuminator Laser system, which measures and corrects for atmospheric distortion, has also been shipped to Boeing for testing. [37] Some examples of weapons which have been publicized by the military are as follows: Active Denial System is a millimeter wave source that heats the water in a human target's skin and thus causes incapacitating pain. Funding has been cut to both of the programs. In addition, a laser shot (including the cost of producing the energy) is much cheaper than a shot from a chemical-powered weapon system. Millimeter waveband energy can penetrate human skin to a very shallow depth, heating the tissue below. These high-speed missiles fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and greater. 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