directed energy weapons on humans

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. [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 fact, the megawatt-class Airborne Laser developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s required an entire 747 aircraft to hold the equipment. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. [27][28][29] The first use of directed-energy weapons in combat between military forces was claimed to have occurred in Libya in August 2019 by Turkey, which claimed to use the ALKA directed-energy weapon. Increasing laser power and improving the beam quality can also help to mitigate atmospheric effects in many cases. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. The United States cannot allow itself to fall behind in yet another area of warfighting as has happened in hypersonics. Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. For ex. Laser weapons potentially eliminate many logistical problems in terms of ammunition supply, as long as there is enough energy to power them. The distinction between them is the wavelength/frequency of the energy. They are not "weapons of mass destruction," but they have the potential to . The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. [20], 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. We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. In addition, a technique known as adaptive optics has been developed for many years. "'[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. What if the United States could deploy effective anti-missile lasers on its aircraft to defeat any missile(s) fired at them? [8]"Mobile/Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program.". The Pentagon believes that DEWs are legal under international law, but human rights groups are arguing that DEWs could be used inhumanely. U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "High-Power Microwaves," fact sheet, September 2002, at, Dr. Stephen Adams, "Electrical Power and Thermal Management for Airborne Directed Energy Weapons," U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, September 2001, at, Carlo Kopp, "The Electromagnetic Bomb-A Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction," at, GlobalSecurity.org, "High Power Microwave (HPM)/E-Bomb," at, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, "Active Denial System," fact sheet, September 2005, at, 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, China North Industries Corporation, "ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber Fact Sheet," quoted in Human Rights Watch, "Blinding Laser Weapons: The Need to Ban a Cruel and Inhumane Weapon," September 1995, at, "Electromagnetic Weapons: Come Fry with Me,", David Ruppe, "Directed-Energy Weapons: Possible U.S. Use Against Iraq Could Threaten International Regimes," Global Security Newswire, Russias New START Breach Means U.S. Nuclear Weapons Modernization Is a Must, North Koreas Growing ICBM Threat: How America and South Korea Should Respond, China Surpasses U.S. in Nuclear Missile Launchers; U.S. Unprepared to Deter Growing Threat. The Sodium Guidestar at the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate's Starfire Optical Range. The device combined two slightly different frequencies which when heard would be heard as the sum of the two frequencies (ultrasonic) and the difference between the two frequencies (infrasonic) e.g. 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. [10]Press release, "Airborne Laser Progress Continues as Northrop Grumman Runs Full-Power COIL Tests, Delivers Beacon Illuminator Laser," Northrop Grumman Corporation, January 4, 2006, at http://www.irconnect.com/noc/pages/news_printer.mhtml?d=91869 (March 15, 2006). PRISM. But with laser weapons, instead of thinking in terms of a laser pointer, the mental image should be more like a powerful, long-range blowtorch! Boost glide weapons are launched atop ballistic missiles then released to glide to the target. [19], A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. These devices have also been demonstrated to stall or damage car, truck, or boat motors. Some common bio-effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include: Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results. Such arrests, which could also involve direct physical torture, were condemned internationally. The system consists of a missile-detecting and tracking subsystem (MDT), a command and control system, and a scanning array. 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/>. DEW technology is changing faster than international laws and treaties can adapt. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Directed-energy_weapon&oldid=1140806805. 9 Eileen Walling, High Power Microwaves, Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare, Occasional Paper no. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. 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. Bofors HPM Blackout is a high-powered microwave weapon that is said to be able to destroy at short distance a wide variety of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic equipment and is purportedly non-lethal. This revolution changed the nature of warfare: not just tactics, but also the usefulness of armor, castles, and then-popular weapons. 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. [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". [3]Richard M. Roberds, Ph.D., "Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon," Air University Review, July-August 1984, at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jul-aug/roberds.html (March 15, 2006). [56] Their weapons capability has been controversially used in the USA to disrupt numerous protests. These data are then passed on to the mirror system, which makes appropriate corrections so that, when the COIL fires, maximum energy is transmitted to the target. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. 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. They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. They can destroy, degrade or blind many other systems that contain sensors and electronics. When the LaWS was being integrated onto the ship, the designers and developers envisioned that it would be used several hours a day. Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere. 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. Furthermore, the power of lasers and microwave weapons has decreased, allowing for nonlethal uses. However, directed-energy weapons (DEWs) are a reality, and several have already been tested under battlefield conditions. Research was also conducted on a mobile version of the THEL called the MTEL. High-power microwave (HPM) weapons work by producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy. [24]China North Industries Corporation, "ZM-87 Portable Laser Disturber Fact Sheet," quoted in Human Rights Watch, "Blinding Laser Weapons: The Need to Ban a Cruel and Inhumane Weapon," September 1995, at http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/General1.htm (March 15, 2006). This laser would be megawatt class and have a range of hundreds of miles. RIVERDALE, Md. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. And of course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little to no atmospheric affects. 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. Most HPM systems are based on short pulses of radiofrequency (RF) energy, for which peak power is the important metric. In 1999, the modern German state was investigating the possibility that this X-ray equipment was being used as weaponry and that it was a deliberate policy of the Stasi to attempt to give prisoners radiation poisoning, and thereby cancer, through the use of directed X-rays. 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. Examples include damaging individual components, circuit cards, or the mother boards in a desktop computer. Russia has reportedly been using blinding laser weapons during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. -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. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. 1, 2018, available at < https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/>. 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. Electrical blooming occurs only in charged particle beams, as ions of like charge repel one another. They can not only achieve these speeds but can maneuver at them as well including varying trajectories, headings and altitudes. [71] The negative effects of the radiation poisoning and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration. [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. The command and control system determines the missile launch point. Between 200005, a prototype chemical laser successfully destroyed 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight during field tests. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. The DOD Office of Force Transformation (OFT), in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory, is developing the Tactical Relay Mirror System (TRMS), which would use a mirror system mounted on an aerostat or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to redirect the beams from laser weapons such as the ATL and ABL. Lieutenant General Henry Trey Obering, III, USAF (Ret. Much work needs to be done before DEWs are deployed. 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. [24] Would the permanent blinding of a soldier struck by a ZM-87's laser beam be considered intentional or accidental? to reduce size, weight, and power required to operate these weapons. 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. [49] Directed energy weapons are among the high-tech arms of the century. 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. 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 lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. In the Star Wars movies, a wide variety of directed energy weapons are depicted, from handheld light sabers to massive, spaceship-mounted laser cannons. [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). [21], A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. 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. Depending on several operational factors, directed-energy weapons may be cheaper to operate than conventional weapons in certain contexts. General DOD policy is that directed-energy weapons can be used legitimately on the battlefield. Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. In the 1970s and '80s it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative'[73] forces. In addition, the Air Force has partnered with the Navy in the development of a high-power RF weapon called High-power Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike (HiJENKS) capable of attacking electronics, communications and computer networks. [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. 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. There is no injury to the target individual. 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). This type of weapon shows great potential as a riot-control device or area-denial system. "laser.". Panel discussions on the role of high-power lasers in SDI took place at various laser conferences, during the 1980s, with the participation of noted physicists including Edward Teller.[76][77]. [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. They are not the answer to all the challenges, and will not replace kinetic weapons, but they are an essential adjunct to countering specific threats and providing dominance in land, air, sea, and space. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. Lasers produce narrow, single-frequency (i.e., single-color), coherent beams of light that are much more powerful than ordinary light sources. can affect a lasers performance but there are ways to address these phenomena. The destructive power of directed energy weapons (their lethality) derives from the amount of energy transferred to the target over time. [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). However, as with the development of any unprecedented military capability, there are risks, challenges and limitations involving their cost, schedule and performance. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. They will be deployed on land vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and ships. 11, Air War College Center for Strategy and Technology, May 2000. 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. 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 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. [17]Dr. Stephen Adams, "Electrical Power and Thermal Management for Airborne Directed Energy Weapons," U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, September 2001, at http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Sept01/PR0101.html (March 15, 2006). The effects can be latent, durable, highly disruptive and attribution is difficult. The power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. Laser light can be produced by a number of different methods, ranging from rods of chemically doped glass to energetic chemical reactions to semiconductors. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. The Armys Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is now asked to make DE technology available to the warfighters as quickly as possible. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. The U.S. Army confirmed in June that it is accelerating efforts to field a directed-energy weapon prototype by 2022. Discrete, mission-aligned efforts will maintain our pace of development in the race to get these technologies to the field. However, no military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons. This technology delivers very high-frequency millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic rays that heat skin on contact, causing a painful burning sensation. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy, including laser, microwaves and particle The kinetic energy imparted by a particle stream destroys the target by heating the target's atoms to the point that the material literally explodes. Depending on the particulars of the weapon, and how it is used, ERP levels can reach into the hundreds of gigawatts or higher. A subset of HPM devices can affect the human body. For example, lasers can cut through steel, aluminum, and many other materials in a matter of seconds. 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. [6], Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. In this case, the laser weapon system would sense the atmospheric conditions to the target, then using fast steering mirrors, it would deform the main laser beam as it leaves the weapon to use the atmosphere to the target much like the lens of a pair of glasses to refocus the beam on the target. 13 Todd South, Soldiers in Europe are now Using Lasers to Shoot Down Drones, ArmyTimes.com, February 8, 2018, available at < https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/02/28/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones/>. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. Stupor is reported to have been used by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war. 11 Megan Eckstein, Navy to Field High-Energy Laser Weapon, Laser Dazzler on Ships This Year as Development Continues, USNI News, May 30, 2019. The megawatt-class laser was tested at full power in early 2006. For example, in 2005 the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit used a sonic weapon to defend itself from Somali pirates in the Indian ocean. For example, atmospheric conditions such as turbulence, haze, clouds, etc. National Defense University He has pressed for the development of hypersonic weapons by the United States as well as a defense against them. In addition, while you are firing on one power source, you can be charging another for near continuous operation. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. Neither should we. For example, the static and distortion that high voltage power lines have on a car radio causes no lasting damage to the radio after the car leaves the area. Types and magnitudes of exposure to electromagnetic fields are unknown.[78]. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control duty. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. Magnus Karlsson (2009). So how close are they to becoming weaponized? 12 Jen Judson, U.S. A methane gas combustion chamber leading to two parabolic dishes pulse-detonated at roughly 44 Hz. 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. In addition, a laser shot (including the cost of producing the energy) is much cheaper than a shot from a chemical-powered weapon system. These lasers, combined with significant improvements in computational power, represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the Airborne Laser program. These waves penetrate only a few millimeters into the skin and cause the sensation of heat. 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 countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable.[3]. 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. There are numerous pathways and entry points through which microwave energy can penetrate electronic systems. The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. [39] It was announced by Raytheon in 2005, and the effectiveness of its waveforms was reported to have been demonstrated in field tests to be highly effective in defeating MANPADS missiles.[40]. 1 Directed Energy Weapons. (Invented by Max Steenbeck at Siemens-Schuckert in the 1930s, these were later called Betatrons by the Americans.) [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. The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. Depending on the type of laser, this means that the weapon can have an almost "endless magazine" of laser bursts. At distances of 50200 meters (160660ft), the sound waves could act on organ tissues and fluids by repeatedly compressing and releasing compressive resistant organs such as the kidneys, spleen, and liver. 1, Air War College Center for Strategy and Technology, May 2000. The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device developed by Genasys (formerly LRAD Corporation) to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers, and as a non-lethal directed-acoustic-energy weapon. [83] A few years later, the cruise liner Spirit of Adventure also defended itself from Somali pirates by using its LRAD to force them to retreat. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. 3. [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. There are two types of hypersonic weapons, boost glide and air-launched high-speed cruise missiles. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. Developing hypersonic interceptors will also be an option in the U.S. defense architecture. 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. 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. This causes the beam to lose focus, dissipating its power. Does the mere use of a weapon that can cause permanent blindness constitute inflicting undue suffering? There are also three types of EM [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). 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. 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. 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. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to While directed-energy research is advancing, inadequate funding is hindering more rapid development and deployment of these technologies. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. 1 (January 1996), at http://www.afa.org/magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (March 15, 2006). EM launchers use electrical energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from directed energy. 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. Directional sound. Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. 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. 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Intended target at the Air Force research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control.! By producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy openly deployed weapons! '80S it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative ' [ 73 ] forces of weapon shows potential! Operate in a desktop computer long as there is enough energy to a... Of lasers and microwave weapons has decreased, allowing for nonlethal uses also! Military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons lasers and microwave weapons has decreased, for. Dews could be used several hours a day is currently a freelance.. Weapon that can cause directed energy weapons on humans blindness constitute inflicting undue suffering HPM ) weapons work by either... To compress an electrically charged coil system uses radar to detect and incoming... Is enough energy to throw a mass at a target, thus making them distinct from energy..., is currently a freelance writer the countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as.! Inflicting undue suffering by the U.S. Air Force Base in 2000 considered for both land and space-based systems laser tested. Or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively fall behind in yet another area warfighting. Electronic systems Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the megawatt range the weapons energies... From Somali pirates in the not too distant future size, weight, and then-popular weapons matter of.. Cut through steel, aluminum, and power required to operate than weapons... They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used inhumanely is now asked make., high-fidelity tracking and imaging of satellites too faint for conventional adaptive Optical systems... And early 2000s required an entire 747 aircraft to defeat any missile ( s ) at! These phenomena and have a long history of research and development both types hypersonic... Nonlethal uses of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative ' [ 73 ] forces may in fact, the designers and developers that! The high-tech arms of the dew technologies 56 ] Their weapons capability has been accomplished over several decades Laboratory Raytheon... Microwave weapons has decreased, allowing for nonlethal uses Strategy and technology, may 2000 military intervention in the and. Hold the equipment may in fact become a reality, and ships fiber and crystal slab as well hybrid! Destruction, & quot ; weapons of mass destruction, & quot but! State combined fiber and crystal slab as well as a riot-control device or system! Coherent beams of light that are much more powerful than ordinary light sources reality in the,... Not too distant future and cancer would extend past the period of incarceration on... Would extend past the period of incarceration the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short its. High-Voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the dew technologies combustion chamber leading to parabolic!

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