microwave weapon

Although currently only a design proposal, the prospects of seeing a fly by wire drone seem to be nearing completion. The X-47Bis a sophisticated radio-controlled jet, that can be flying off aircraft carriers as early as next year. Besides calling the beast a "manhunter," the company plans to equip the unmanned plane with air-to-air missiles, laser and microwave firepower (called "directed energy and rechargeable weapons") that can take out enemy missiles.

The Active Denial System, the Pentagon's "pain ray," is a millimeter wave nonlethal weapon that has been at the center of controversy since it was publicly revealed in 2001. This is the second part of an interview with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Diana Loree, the ADS project manager, who has been with the program since 1993. (Here's the first part.) In today's entry, we focus on "System 2," the latest version of the weapon, which could eventually be sent to Iraq.