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Get Ready for Directed Energy Weapons

THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 2006 9:00 PM

Submitted by legionnaire. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Goodbye weapon, ADS, military, directed energy

Despite the US military's considerable prowess in killing people and blowing things up, the post-cold war era has found it and other NATO allies often engaged in activities that are typically more appropriate for police officers. "Peacekeeping" missions in places like Haiti, Somalia, Serbia, and now Iraq have soldiers patrolling the streets, trying to maintain some semblance of order and often keeping people from killing each other. It's a far cry from the more distinct military objectives that characterized earlier conflicts like the Second World War, and the military has now decided that weapons designed with those objectives in mind may not be suitable for the newer tasks. So they've designed, and are getting ready to deploy something new: a non-lethal ray gun.

According to documents obtained for Wired News under federal sunshine laws, the Air Force's Active Denial System, or ADS, has been certified safe after lengthy tests by military scientists in the lab and in war games.

The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves�94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.

The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.

Documents acquired for Wired News using the Freedom of Information Act claim that most of the radiation (83 percent) is instantly absorbed by the top layer of the skin, heating it rapidly.

The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds.

"It will repel you," one test subject said. "If hit by the beam, you will move out of it�reflexively and quickly. You for sure will not be eager to experience it again."

But while subjects may feel like they have sustained serious burns, the documents claim effects are not long-lasting. At most, "some volunteers who tolerate the heat may experience prolonged redness or even small blisters," the Air Force experiments concluded.

The cat has been out of the bag on Active Denial Systems for some time now, and considerable information is available on the technology, though there are still some specifics that the government is keeping classified. That the Air Force has deemed it "safe" for use, however, is a new revelation, and suggests that we may actually be seeing these sooner rather than later.

From a political perspective an effective, non-lethal crowd control device such as the ADS could be a serious boon for troops on assignment in dangerous areas as a replacement for guns. It's not likely to endear people in those areas to the troops very much, particularly if it gets used often, but a reduction in civilian casualties resulting from peacekeeping missions will go a long way towards minimizing long term anti-Western sentiments.

Of course, the caveat to all this is that the technology really is non-lethal, that is has no harmful side effects (which the Air Force claims, but taking military researchers at their word that new technologies are safe hasn't been a good bet for a while) and that it will be used properly. Rubber and plastic bullets were supposed to be the panacea for crowd control when they were first invented, but unfortunately at close range or when misused they are still very dangerous.

Like it or not, however, it's unlikely that the considerable amount of time and money that has been invested in this project already is going to be tossed aside until the ADS has at least seen some field usage. So one way or another, ray-gun-toting troops or police are coming your way.

39 Comments

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Andvari

Calgary, AB

April 2005

DEC 07, 2006 09:14 PM

I would love the idea of non-lethal weapons, except they seem to be regularly abused.

dholokov

Toronto, ON

April 2003

DEC 07, 2006 09:23 PM

As long as the away team commanders tell everyone to keep their weapons on 'stun', it's unliklely any permanent harm will result.

Andvari

Calgary, AB

April 2005

DEC 07, 2006 09:29 PM

dholokov said:
As long as the away team commanders tell everyone to keep their weapons on 'stun', it's unliklely any permanent harm will result.

But there's always some moron who tries to heat the rocks with it "just to keept warm" and before you know it you have an overload, which is never fun.

Vestril

Coronado, CA

February 2003

DEC 07, 2006 09:31 PM

I keep reading that as "AIDS," which kind of makes sense since I imagine being blasted with microwaves again and again would cause you to die slowly and painfully (sorry Air Force, I don't buy your theory).

In response to the headline: I've been ready for a long, long time. Admittedly I'll be more ready when they can't be fought with layering...

Callahan

Seattle, WA

February 2005

DEC 07, 2006 09:32 PM

Seems like an effective way of keeping the masses at home in line. Especiallly since this stuff can be mounted on aircraft.

redheadedleague

San Rafael, CA

September 2003

DEC 07, 2006 09:43 PM

So um, what happens if you keep someone in the beam on purpose. Not that, you know, our lilly white soldiers would ever do such a thing.

Dark_Templar

Auburn, CA

June 2004

DEC 07, 2006 10:00 PM

Wow thats Fuckin Awesome

I want one

DieWhiteGirls

Madison, WI

July 2005

DEC 07, 2006 10:03 PM

Pew pew.

catdad

Portland, OR

August 2002

DEC 07, 2006 10:25 PM

Poor monkeys.

pyromethious

Silver Springs, FL

October 2006

DEC 07, 2006 10:26 PM

"I said across her nose not UP it....sorry sir, I'm doing my best"

thrash242

Pearland, TX

September 2004

DEC 07, 2006 10:28 PM

Awesome. I want one too.

zgrat

Pasadena, CA

September 2003

DEC 07, 2006 10:40 PM

ooh, does this mean we'll be able to get phasers soon?

djsik

United Kingdom

March 2005

DEC 07, 2006 11:19 PM

A lot of my colleagues are researching mm-waves (for medical imaging/gas detection etc - nothing weapons/military related!). A couple of very important points about this weapon are:

It is definitely not a microwave oven. Microwaves penetrate about 2cm into tissue. mm-waves however, are almost completely absorbed by the first bit of water they come across, so that's why it causes intense heating in the top layer of skin but no deeper.

mm-waves are not ionizing radiation (like X-rays or gamma-rays). They do not give you cancer and their effect does not build over repeated uses... i.e. you can be blasted with them numerous times and it won't be any more harmful than being hit the first time.

They can pass through many layers of (most) clothing without being weakened but...

They can very easily be stopped by a thin layer of metal or water rich material - i.e. wet clothes. The weapon is likely to perform poorly in humid or rainy weather conditions.

Also, coarsly woven fabric (like wool) makes the beam scatter so the heat may be spread over a larger area of skin and feel less intense.

Trained fighters will soon learn to avoid them through appropriate clothing. US soldiers will start going for head shots so there's a possibility that the cornea may be scarred if the beam hits the eyes.

As trained fighters will know how to avoid the beam, it will only be useful on civilian targets rather than in a full combat situation.

I find it most worrying because it would make an excellent "interrogation tool" as it will cause intense pain but leave few signs of its use.

DLPChris

Irving, TX

February 2005

DEC 07, 2006 11:22 PM

I heard about this a few years ago... wonder if they ever got the kinks worked out? From my understanding, it played hell with anyone with heart problems.