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| Invisible beam tops list of nonlethal weapons |
| 2004-06-09 |
| Death Ray ready for field testing. By Greg Gordon -- Sacramento Bee EFL. WASHINGTON - Test subjects can’t see the invisible beam from the Pentagon’s new, Star Trek-like weapon, but no one has withstood the pain it produces for more than three seconds. People who volunteered to stand in front of the directed energy beam say they felt as if they were on fire. When they stepped aside, the pain disappeared instantly. The long-range column of millimeter-wave energy is known as the "Active Denial System" for its ability to prevent an aggressor from advancing. Senior military officials, who plan to deliver the device for troop evaluation this fall, say years of testing has produced no sign it will lead to health effects beyond perhaps causing skin to temporarily redden. Marine Col. David Karcher, who heads the Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, says the energy beam is aimed at helping troops and police in confusing situations by offering options "between bullets and a bullhorn." . . . Karcher and other military officials are trying to alleviate fears that the device might be misused to harm civilians or converted into a torture machine that leaves no marks. Remember the "agony booth" from the original Star Trek? Introduction of such a device in either noncombat or wartime situations could raise thorny questions: Would it be acceptable to inflict so much pain on unruly protesters? Depends who they are. How would such a weapon be viewed if used on crowds in Third World countries? "Don’t mess with the Americans or you’ll get hurt." Would it violate international humanitarian principles if used in battle? "Of course it would. Under ’international law,’ it would be much more humane to shoot people dead than to use that thing on them." DUH! Might it be used secretly during interrogations to torture suspected terrorists into cooperating? He asks that like it’s a bad thing. Eleven years in the making at a cost of more than $50 million, the Active Denial System is still years from deployment. It weighs about 4 tons and consists largely of a big dish and antenna that are mounted on a Humvee multipurpose vehicle. . . . Once an operator has aimed the antenna using a scope, the press of a button sends out a column of millimeter-wave, electromagnetic energy at the speed of light. Pentagon officials say that the weapon’s exact reach and its column size are classified, but that it can extend beyond the 550-meter effective range of bullets. Its intensity is the same at any distance. Ready for field trials. Coming soon to a theatre of war near you. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #16 This is one of those science projects championed by those too far away from the action. The first time this is used, the targets will respond with bullets and RPGs. This brings us no closer to victory, but sucks up resources that could better be used elsewhere. The $50M would have been better spent on 250K artillery shells or 500M bullets. Or take the money and buy arms for Africans who are undergoing slow genocide. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-06-09 10:41:11 PM |
| #15 I think I'm with Frank G, if I understood him correctly. I'm for lethal weapons. Very lethal. 100% lethal. All Lethal, All the Time. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-09 10:24:08 PM |
| #14 Might be used for torture? Seems like a lighted cigarette butt would be a cheaper way to create a burning sensation. BTW the laws of physics dictate that the intensity is not the same at any distance, even with the high gain antenna, because of spreading. Millimeter waves also experience absorption in the atmosphere. However the range should be farther than bullets. |
| Posted by: virginian 2004-06-09 8:52:59 PM |
| #13 Robert - what makes you think the LLL-schooled journalists ever had any knowledge of science? ;-) At SOME point they had to have watched some PBS. I can't imagine them skipping the science shows and just watching Ken Burns and Nova. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-09 8:33:08 PM |
| #12 Possibly issues with power sources ... these things probably draw a fair amount of power & for operational deployment you'd want to make sure they can operate without an extension cord LOL |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-06-09 8:32:15 PM |
| #11 What's the deal here? They've been testing the heck out of the thing and it works. So how come it is STILL "years from deployment?" If this thing works as advertised, I would want an enormous fleet of Humvees ready to deploy at a moment's notice. Especially in the middle east and Asia, where "rent-a-mobs" are pro forma. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-06-09 8:20:00 PM |
| #10 Actually, I prefer the THEL http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/missile_systems/systems/THEL.html. As you recall, although designed as an anti-missile, anti-artillery, anti-aircraft weapon, it has also been successfully tested against "ground targets." Crispy critters. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-06-09 6:23:44 PM |
| #9 Robert - what makes you think the LLL-schooled journalists ever had any knowledge of science? ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-09 6:19:48 PM |
| #8 Ah, but it's from the Sac Bee - which means it's got about a 60-70% chance of being bullshit. |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-06-09 4:14:06 PM |
| #7 true RWV, but "killing them dead" works well IMHO, and seems to be irreversible. See: 'Mahdi Army' |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-09 4:05:10 PM |
| #6 It's always painful when journalists who can barely balance their checkbooks try to write about science. If this sounds like Star Trek, it's probably because the device reminded the writer of an episode he had seen and so he described it in terms he could understand. Directed energy weapons have been around a long time (LASER, MASER, particle beam, et. al.). What's new and nifty here is that the device is non-lethal and CAN be used for crowd control. This is part of a continuing effort to come up with nonlethal weapons that can control an enemy's actions with a minimum of collateral damage. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-06-09 4:02:08 PM |
| #5 And they thought that panties on the head was bad? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-06-09 3:46:04 PM |
| #4 sends out a column of millimeter-wave, electromagnetic energy at the speed of light. My God! How ever did they manage to emit light at the speed of light! (Are journalists required to take a special course that clears their minds of all knowledge they may have ever had about science?) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-09 3:45:55 PM |
| #3 The first thing I thought of was interrogations. I wonder if they could build some big ones, put them on satellites, point them down at the Middle East and then go home for a long weekend. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2004-06-09 3:41:55 PM |
| #2 But remember, it's for purely peaceful purposes. All who can should try to get hold of MST3K's version of Danger: Death Ray! (not available in stores). Bop di-dop di-dah-dah, everyone! |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-06-09 3:41:45 PM |
| #1 Its Microwave a Mullah time! al-Sadr better worry about the sound of engines approaching, then the ringing in his ears that became a splitting headache before he loases consciousness. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-06-09 3:17:39 PM |
