USAF ADS (Microwave) Weapon Certified for Use in Iraq
Submitted by MichaelVail on Thu, 12/07/2006 - 7:18pm.
Daily Tech
Posted: Dec 6, 2006
The United States Air Force has certified a new weapon that will be used on the ground against insurgents in Iraq. The $40 million USD Active Denial System (ADS) took ten years to develop and is a non-lethal weapon that shoots millimeter waves at offending parties.
The beams fired by the ADS feature 3mm wavelengths as opposed to a 12cm wavelength used in an average household microwave oven. As a result of the shorter wavelengths, the weapon does not represent a radiation risk to victims and will not impose long-lasting damage in most cases.
Human volunteers (active, reserve and retired military personnel) subjected to the beam felt immediate and immense pain from the ADS weapon. The beam causes a person to feel that he or she is on fire and triggers a "flight" response. A result, Air Force officials say that the weapon has what is called the "Goodbye effect" meaning that subjects turn tail and run. "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," reported one test subject.
Tests on the volunteers revealed that most subjects reached their threshold for pain within 3 seconds while no one could hold out for more than 5 seconds at a time. After roughly 10,000 test exposures, there were only six reported cases of test subjects receiving blisters from exposure to the beam. One test subject did, however, receive second-degree burns in controlled laboratory testing.
There are defenses to the beam according to the military -- the beam cannot penetrate rock or stone. And even if a person were to hold up a sheet of metal or try to wear protective clothing with metal plates, a small exposed area of skin would be enough to produce a successful Goodbye effect. Tests also showed that damp clothing further intensifies the effects of the beam. Wired News reports:
In one war game, an assault team staged a mock raid on a building. The ADS was used to remove civilians from the battlefield, separating what the military calls "tourists from terrorists." It was also used in a Black Hawk Down scenario, and maritime tests, which saw the ADS deployed against small boats... It might also be used on the battlefield. One war game deployed the ADS in support of an assault, suppressing incoming fire and obstructing a counterattack.
Current versions of the ADS have been mounted to Hummers and fire 2 meter diameter beams that have an effective range of 500 meters. Smaller versions of the weapon have also been tested on the Stryker armored personnel carrier. Tests are also underway to produce an airborne version of the weapon. "Key technologies to enable this capability from an airborne platform -- such as a C-130 -- are being developed at several Air Force Research Laboratory technology directorates," says Diana Loree, program manager for the Airborne ADS.
Posted: Dec 6, 2006
The United States Air Force has certified a new weapon that will be used on the ground against insurgents in Iraq. The $40 million USD Active Denial System (ADS) took ten years to develop and is a non-lethal weapon that shoots millimeter waves at offending parties.
The beams fired by the ADS feature 3mm wavelengths as opposed to a 12cm wavelength used in an average household microwave oven. As a result of the shorter wavelengths, the weapon does not represent a radiation risk to victims and will not impose long-lasting damage in most cases.
Human volunteers (active, reserve and retired military personnel) subjected to the beam felt immediate and immense pain from the ADS weapon. The beam causes a person to feel that he or she is on fire and triggers a "flight" response. A result, Air Force officials say that the weapon has what is called the "Goodbye effect" meaning that subjects turn tail and run. "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," reported one test subject.
Tests on the volunteers revealed that most subjects reached their threshold for pain within 3 seconds while no one could hold out for more than 5 seconds at a time. After roughly 10,000 test exposures, there were only six reported cases of test subjects receiving blisters from exposure to the beam. One test subject did, however, receive second-degree burns in controlled laboratory testing.
There are defenses to the beam according to the military -- the beam cannot penetrate rock or stone. And even if a person were to hold up a sheet of metal or try to wear protective clothing with metal plates, a small exposed area of skin would be enough to produce a successful Goodbye effect. Tests also showed that damp clothing further intensifies the effects of the beam. Wired News reports:
In one war game, an assault team staged a mock raid on a building. The ADS was used to remove civilians from the battlefield, separating what the military calls "tourists from terrorists." It was also used in a Black Hawk Down scenario, and maritime tests, which saw the ADS deployed against small boats... It might also be used on the battlefield. One war game deployed the ADS in support of an assault, suppressing incoming fire and obstructing a counterattack.
Current versions of the ADS have been mounted to Hummers and fire 2 meter diameter beams that have an effective range of 500 meters. Smaller versions of the weapon have also been tested on the Stryker armored personnel carrier. Tests are also underway to produce an airborne version of the weapon. "Key technologies to enable this capability from an airborne platform -- such as a C-130 -- are being developed at several Air Force Research Laboratory technology directorates," says Diana Loree, program manager for the Airborne ADS.
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