The MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) microwave crowd control weapon uses microwave pulses to make extremely uncomfortable high noise levels in the human skull of targeted individuals. The end result is the noise bypassing the human ear drum and ears resulting in an extremely uncomfortable feeling to encourage a crowd to break-up in a non-lethal manner. The MEDUSA system is developed by the Sierra Nevada Corporation on behalf of the United States Navy and does not result in negative side effects for people not in the targeted area. If military testing of the weapons succeeds in demonstrating there are no side effects of the weapon, civilian applications by law enforcement and security firms are planned for MEDUSA.
How Does MEDUSA Work?
MEDUSA leverages the Microwave Auditory Effect which is when microwave stimulation causes the portions of the ear around the cochlea to expand thermally. This expansion is then interpreted by the brain to be sound that originates in the targeted persons head and is not heard by anyone else in the path of the beam. The system commonly gets confused with the Active Denial System which also uses a directed microwave beam, but in a different manner to cause the sensation of heat in the body’s skin. Since the MEDUSA transmission doesn’t vibrate the human body’s eardrum, the use of hearing protection does not protect an individual from the microwave crowd control measures. In addition to focused, narrow beam transmission, MEDUSA is also capable of transmitting a broad beam transmission to cover multiple targets over a large area to be used as a perimeter security defensive measure or to keep areas free of birds.
What are the Potential MEDUSA Side Effects?
As early as 1961, scientists have been testing side effects of microwave auditory effects. Short term effects of headaches, dizziness, and pins and needles have been documents. What is not known is if the incapacitating level of transmission of the system is used if there will be permanent neural damage in the affected person. With selectable levels of transmission, permanent damage would be a potential road block to wide-spread civilian use of the system for microwave crowd control or shopping mall security.