The electromagnetic spectrum has long been exploited by the military to include the advent of wireless communications in the late 1800′s and the initial discovery of radar in the 1930s. Each of these technologies resulting in generation changing technologies Since that time, the U.S. Military and government has been focused on research, development, and deployment of directed energy weapons that make use of microwave or high energy radio frequency against people, micro-electronics, and fuel vapor. The most recent publicly displayed weaponry has been in the non-lethal weapons realm focused on helping to provide warfighters with options other than deadly force to accomplish mission sets when mixed with neutral or non-hostile personnel.
Characteristics of Microwave Weapons
In the history of R&D for microwave weaponry, there are several common characteristics across the systems developed. These include:
- Microwave weapons systems do not rely on knowledge of the system they are targeting.
- System hardening is required to counteract the weapon.
- Lasting effects on targeted systems are persistent due to destruction of electronics components.
- Can damage systems even if in the off condition.
These characteristics don’t necessarily apply in the same fashion when microwave technology is applied towards applications in changing human behavior when employed in non-lethal weapons.
Features of Microwave Weapons
There are a number of common attributes or features found across microwave weapons designed to counter electronics-based systems. A microwave-based weapon can attack a system either directly or indirectly and obtains its goals causing destruction of the target from the inside out. Other common features include:
- The ability to attack in any weather.
- Long range if appropriate power is used in the system.
- Minimizes collateral damage.
- Are scalable in size (various sizes are possible from 10 lbs and up).
- Capable of area attacks.
- Leverages the fact that most electronics systems are not hardened against microwave frequencies.
- Repair after attack is extremely hard typically requiring expensive high level systems analysis.
- Replenishing microwave-based weapons is much easier than conventional ordnance.
What Kinds of Microwave Weapons Exist?
Over the past several decades, armed forces across the globe have come to rely on a vast array of electronics. As a result, the environment for targets that can be targeted by microwave weapons has significantly increased. The U.S. Air Force has leveraged a number of technologies in the offensive and defensive arenas to take advantage of high powered microwave weapons to disrupt enemy systems to gain tactical and strategic advantages on the battlefield. Additionally, the U.S. Marine Corps has fielded the Active Denial System (ADS) which makes use of focused microwave radiation to create a burning sensation in the skin of the targeted individual(s) to encourage a change in behavior. Other R&D efforts focus on the use of both laser and high power microwave technology in order to confuse or disrupt and inbound missile’s guidance system to result in a successful soft-kill defense without having to employ ordnance-based defensive systems unless necessary.