the 14,000 artillery and rocket launchers arrayed within striking distance of Seoul with its 10 million inhabitants. [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. DE weapons include high-energy lasers, high-power radio frequency or microwave devices, and charged or neutral particle beam weapons.2 Microwaves and lasers are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes light energy and radio waves. These lasers, combined with significant improvements in computational power, represent dramatic advances in technology over those used in the Airborne Laser program. 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. Developing hypersonic interceptors will also be an option in the U.S. defense architecture. Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. 1, Air War College Center for Strategy and Technology, May 2000. 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. 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. On August 24, 2004, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system destroyed a salvo of mortar rounds in midair during a test. 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. can affect a lasers performance but there are ways to address these phenomena. The intent was to pre-ionize ignition in aircraft engines and hence serve as anti-aircraft DEW and bring planes down into the reach of the flak. -13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). ", 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. Retrieved 2010-01-04. Most HPM systems are based on short pulses of radiofrequency (RF) energy, for which peak power is the important metric. 11 Megan Eckstein, Navy to Field High-Energy Laser Weapon, Laser Dazzler on Ships This Year as Development Continues, USNI News, May 30, 2019. Today, solid state electrical (including fiber) and hybrid lasers are being developed that are much lighter and smaller. two directional speakers emitting 16,000 Hz and 16,002 Hz frequencies would produce in the ear two frequencies of 32,002 Hz and 2 Hz. Directed energy weapons conjure up images of the Death Star's Superlaser or Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. 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]. Design specifications are already being determined. This type of weapon shows great potential as a riot-control device or area-denial system. This revolution changed the nature of warfare: not just tactics, but also the usefulness of armor, castles, and then-popular weapons. 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. Electrical blooming occurs only in charged particle beams, as ions of like charge repel one another. The Phaser | December 6, 2022 Q NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00. 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. 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. These systems of missile defense are expected to come online no sooner than the mid to late-2020s. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. 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. The skin of the missile heats up, melts, and deforms, and the target breaks up in midair. Fixing the Research and Deployment Bottlenecks. The countries abandoned particle-beam weapon research as impracticable.[3]. [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. [18], Paired with a microwave generator, an EPFCG could produce an ultrashort, intense microwave burst. Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. [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). Discrete, mission-aligned efforts will maintain our pace of development in the race to get these technologies to the field. In the case of directed energy weapons, there has been significant risk reduction which has been accomplished over several decades. 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. A possible future development is the electrolaser. 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. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. [49] 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. Directed energy system is further defined by the STOA document: "Directed energy weapon system designed to match radio frequency source to interfere with human brain activity at synapse level" (at the bottom of the page, first reference, Appendix 6-67). The United States must realize that it has to resource the development and fielding of these capabilities. 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. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. They have been used on several occasions to repel pirate attacks by sending warnings and by producing intolerable levels of sound. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. . A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to 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/>. 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. This makes targeting and tracking easier as well. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. In March 2003, North Korea may have used a ZM-87 to "paint" two U.S. Apache helicopters patrolling the Demilitarized Zone. 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. 12 Jen Judson, U.S. With the ever-increasing use of electronics in weapons systems, HPM devices could have a devastating but nonlethal effect on the battlefield. In most cases, the target system must be shut off and restarted, and may require minor repairs before it can operate normally again. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. The humanitarian community is also concerned about the long-term biological effects of DEWs (microwaves in particular) and their possible use against civilian targets.[25]. Neither should we. U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs: Hearings Gulf War Illnesses; Testimony to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; Meryl Nass, MD, Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Mount Desert Island Hospital Bar Harbor, Maine; September 25, 2007, Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 22:00, United States Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "Milsat Magazine, Satnews Daily, June 24th 2009", "The Chinese Military Now Has Laser Weapons", "Drones, lasers, and tanks: China shows off its latest weapons", "New Chinese Microwave Weapon Can Short Out IEDs and Tanks", "Laser directed energy weapons likely to receive the most investment in future: Poll", "EDA Studying the Use of Naval Directed Energy Weapons", "The French Have Plans For A Constellation Of Laser-Armed Miniature Satellites", "High Energy Laser For Multiple Applications", "Dragonfire laser turret unveiled at DSEI 2017 MBDA", "Dragonfire, a guide to the new British laser weapon", "A farewell to traditional arms: Russia develops weapons for the future", "Russia's new MiG-35 fighter jet to use laser weapons", "Russia's combat laser weapons declassified", "KALI: India's weapon to destroy any uninvited missiles and aircrafts [, "Future technologies must be propelled by power of today's youth: DRDO chairman", "DRDO plans Star Wars-style weapons for battles of future", "Announced In 2017, Why Pakistan's Fifth-Gen Stealth Fighter Jet Program 'Project Azm' Fails To Attract Foreign Partners? For fictional uses, see, "DEW" redirects here. 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. [1] They may begin to appear on the battlefield within the next decade, bringing a revolution in weapons and how war is waged. 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. While centuries of technological advances have improved the power of these materials, the basic operating principle of chemical-powered weapons ultimately remains the same. 1 Department of Defense Joint Publication 3-13.1, Electronic Warfare (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012). They could therefore avoid there being any evidence of repression or at least limit it. This technology delivers very high-frequency millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic rays that heat skin on contact, causing a painful burning sensation. It was a psychological warfare method which could involve the group based and systematic gaslighting of targets, among other things. 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. 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. getty. One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. Increasing laser power and improving the beam quality can also help to mitigate atmospheric effects in many cases. [21], A demonstration system was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2000. In addition, controllers can vary the strength of the energy put on a target, unlike a bullet or exploding bomb, allowing for nonlethal uses. Lieutenant General Henry Trey Obering, III, USAF (Ret. The virtual inaudibility of the equipment is said to produce a "spooky" psychological effect. Since these weapons maneuver, the United States needs to be able to precisely track the hypersonic missile throughout its entire flight or birth to death. The only cost-effective way to accomplish this is using space-based satellites. The laser is being built and will be tested in mid-2006. From the Stone Age until the Middle Ages, a weapon's power was limited by the strength of the man wielding it or, in the case of bows, by the strength of material from which it was made. 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. 9 Eileen Walling, High Power Microwaves, Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare, Occasional Paper no. 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. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future. Laser energy can be generated as a continuous wave or in pulses, which also influences its lethality. The brave men and women who confront dangerous threats across all physical domainsland, air, sea, and spaceneed nothing less than the worlds most promising new capabilities to protect U.S. national security. However, no military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons. The speed, ultraprecision, and nonlethal capabilities of directed-energy weapons are all good reasons why the United States should continue to research, develop, and, where appropriate, field these technologies. The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. [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). [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. 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. 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. The system generates a focused beam of energy at the frequency of 95 gigahertz. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. These include: Directed energy weapons have been in development for decades in our nations research and development organizations, national laboratories and industry. In early versions of laser weapons, the light was generated by chemical reactions. They were seen as tools for destroying ICBMs and drones, or for dispersing rioters. [46] Potentially lethal effects are produced only inside 100 meters range, and disruptive effects at distances on the order of one kilometer. (It had little detectable effect on malleable organs such as the heart, stomach and intestines.) Like lasers, HPM weapons can operate in a pulsed or continuous manner and are classified using peak or average power respectively. For ex. 6 David Stoudt, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, private communication. [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). HPM lethality can be affected by atmospheric conditions as well, but to a much lesser degree than high-energy laser (HEL) weapons. Alane Kochems Since the invention of gunpowder, a weapon's effectiveness has no longer depended on the wielder's strength, but on the chemical energy of the propellant or explosive. Therefore, currently deployed defenses against ballistic missiles will not be effective in defending against these non-ballistic threats. (Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2018). While DEWs are not a panacea, the armed services should fully support research and development of these useful technologies. The power output necessary for a weapons-grade laser ranges from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. Boost glide weapons are launched atop ballistic missiles then released to glide to the target. The short, intense bursts of energy produced by HPM devices damage equipment without injuring personnel. Does the mere use of a weapon that can cause permanent blindness constitute inflicting undue suffering? [11], The megawatt-class laser was tested at full power in early 2006. Improvements in energy-generating systems may also make particle-beam weapons feasible. At the speeds that these hypersonic missiles fly, they have vulnerabilities which could be exploited by directed energy weapons. Electrolasers make use of laser bloom, a normally undesired effect. 1, 2018, available at < https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/>. X-ray lasers may be possible in the not too distant future. 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. 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. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. This article will examine answers to these questions. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Similar to the Armys RCCTO and the Navys Accelerated Acquisition (AA) Process, the Air Force is leveraging both Air Force Research Laboratorys DE Directorate and Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office to expedite delivery of capabilities to address key capability gaps identified in the DE flight plan: Forward Base Defense, Precision Strike, and Aircraft Self-Protect. 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. For example, lasers can cut through steel, aluminum, and many other materials in a matter of seconds. 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. Directed energy weapons, also known by the brand name Active Denial System, are a new technology developed by the U.S. military. At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. Stupor is reported to have been used by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war. They hurt and kill with electromagnetic power. However, the Army felt the fixed-base laser system was too large and cut funding for the program after the demonstration phase. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. 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. ", "Navy's new laser weapon: Hype or reality? Its effective beam width is so small that it can be directed at individuals in a riot. (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. Building a Stryker with a 50kW laser is a follow-on to the 5kW laser the Army tested on the vehicle just a year ago in Germany at the Joint Warfighting Assessment and related efforts. The SOR's world-class adaptive optics telescope is the second largest telescope in the Department of Defense. "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. 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. 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. ", "Defence IQ talks to Dr Palek about Directed Energy Weapon systems", "US Navy Laser Weapon Fires At $1 Per Shot", "Israel tests improved Arrow interceptor", "Defense News - Russian army confirms use of Stupor anti-drone rifle in Ukraine", "Russia Uses Stupor Technology To Ward Off Ukrainian Drone Attacks", "Russia is developing laser, electromagnetic and plasma weapons", "Applications LRAD Corporation website", "How to Dodge the Sonic Weapon Used by Police", Directed-Energy Weapons: No Longer Science Fiction, "Robert Watson-Watt: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland", "How the search for a 'death ray' led to radar", "Robert Watson-Watt biography - Science Hall of Fame - National Library of Scotland", "Forschungssttte fr Hitlers "Todesstrahlen", Reports of Use of Laser Weapons By The Soviets Against the Chinese, "How dangerous is the Army's squawk box? The mid to late-2020s, stomach and intestines. use of a solid-state laser by Grumman! 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