Electromagnetic weapons. In publications and reality
According to various data, currently the leading countries of the world are developing promising types of weapons that use so-called new physical principles. Certain successes have already been achieved in various spheres, and in addition, new weapon becomes a cause for serious concern from the military or analysts. For example, in recent days, with the filing of the American press in different countries, they talked about the danger in the form of promising electromagnetic weapons created in Russia, China and other countries.
It should be recalled the main provisions of the concept of weapons using electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Such a weapon is a generator of short-term powerful impulse and is intended to combat the enemy's electronic systems. Powerful electromagnetic radiation should create interference in the electrical circuits of enemy equipment and literally burn it. After a successful attack with the use of electromagnetic radiation, in theory, the enemy is deprived of the possibility of using communication and control tools, locators and even onboard equipment systems.
"Mayak" and the report
This time, another article in the American edition of The Washington Free Beacon caused anxiety. Bill Hertz’s regular contributor, 24, in January published an article titled “China, Russia Building Super-EMP Bombs for 'Blackout Warfare'” - “China and Russia are creating a super-EMP bomb for the“ outage war ”. The reason for the appearance of this article was the publication of the report “Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare” (“Scenarios of nuclear and EMI attacks and combined fighting in cyberspace”).
This report in 2017 was prepared for the recently dissolved non-state Commission on EMP Attack. The paper cited a number of facts and assumptions about the EMI-weapon and its possible impact on the situation in the world. The author of the report was Dr. Peter Vincent Pry.
In his article, B. Hertz cited the most interesting quotes from the report. First of all, he was interested in the capabilities of different countries in the context of EMI systems, as well as the scope of the latter and the results of such attacks. According to the report for a non-governmental organization, several "unreliable" countries are currently developing their own electromagnetic weapons, and in the future are able to use them to solve their military-political tasks. Objects for EMI charges can be objects in Europe, North America, and the Middle and Far East.
P.V. Pry points out that the development of EMP weapons is underway in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Such developments are considered in the context of "the fighting of the sixth generation", implying an attack of military and civilian objects in cyberspace, as well as using electromagnetic impulses. In connection with the possible influence on the enemy's energy networks, such ideas are also called the “Blackout War”.
As a source of "combat" EMR is proposed to use nuclear ammunition. In this case, there are different ways of their use with a different effect. Thus, the undermining of a nuclear charge at low altitude reduces the radius of destruction of electromagnetic radiation, but increases the power of impact on the enemy. Increasing the height of the blasting results is counterproductive: an increase in radius and a reduction in power. At the same time obtaining outstanding results is possible. Thus, undermining a nuclear charge of unnamed power at an altitude of 30 km, according to the calculations of the author of the report, can lead to disastrous consequences for the infrastructure of North America.
The “Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare” talk also suggested possible scenarios of hypothetical armed conflicts using EMP weapons. According to the authors, Russia can use its own systems of this kind against the NATO contingent in Europe, there is also a threat to the continental United States. China allegedly may strike an electromagnetic pulse on the infrastructure of Taiwan. The targets for the North Korean weapons are assigned to Taiwan and Japan. Iran is able to use EMR against Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Further in the report even more interesting estimates are given, which are also quoted by B. Hertz. Terrorists from the Islamic State group (banned in Russia) allegedly can purchase EMP charges from the DPRK, as well as get short-range missiles from Iran. Then missiles with an unusual warhead can be used to attack the Mediterranean countries. P.V. Pry also suggests that Pyongyang is able to sell its weapons to other terrorist organizations, and this will also lead to a strike on third countries.
For obvious reasons, in the Free Beacon the part of the report is particularly detailed cited on possible EMR strikes on the territory of North America and the United States in particular. In particular, data on the quantitative features of a hypothetical attack are given. So, all 14 nuclear warheads (power not specified) with undermining at an altitude of 60 miles with their electromagnetic pulses are able to disable the key infrastructure of the United States. The second series of such attacks makes useless the main objects of the army, including strategic nuclear forces.
The report indicates that the danger to the United States is the activity of several “dictatorial regimes”. On American targets, Russia, China, the DPRK and Iran can hit, not counting terrorist organizations. At the same time, there is sufficiently detailed and plausible information about some projects of this kind. For example, the Russian military and officials repeatedly told about the development of weapons based on electromagnetic impulses.
Article publication Free Beacon, based on the report of P.V. Phraya attracted the attention of readers and became the reason for a number of new publications in various media. The discussion of electromagnetic weapons, their capabilities and potential impact on the situation in the world has been going on for several days now.
Oddities of the report
B. Hertz from The Washington Free Beacon quoted only a few quotes from the Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare report. The document itself includes 65 pages and simply does not fit in a small article. In this regard, outside the article in Free Beacon left a lot of interesting information. For example, it referred only to the theses of the report directly related to the use of EMP weapons, whereas the source document also considered threats in cyberspace, nuclear weapons, etc. Also, the report had some features that do not allow to show to him with particular confidence.
Contrary to various reprints in the media of different countries, the 2017 report of the year is not directly related to the Pentagon or the US Congress. He was prepared by a “private” expert for a non-governmental organization, which, moreover, had recently ceased its activities. These circumstances show the level of the document and its potential in the context of influencing the military policy of the United States. Perhaps the congressmen could have read the report and learned some facts from it (or fiction), but they would hardly have taken it seriously.
The document also contains very bold estimates and extremely interesting assumptions. Some of them are based on too loose assumptions, hardly acceptable for a serious report. However, P.V. Pry remembers some of the events of the past, takes into account the current political agenda, and then draws conclusions based on them. His inventions and assumptions can, at a minimum, raise questions, but at the same time are “politically correct” and meet the interests of some circles in the United States and other countries.
For example, as one of the evidence in favor of Russia's ability and desire to use its hypothetical EMI weapon, events of twenty years ago are cited (p. 3). In May, the 1999 of the year in Vienna hosted a Russia-NATO meeting dedicated to current events in the Balkans. During this event, the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Lukin made an interesting statement. He offered to present a picture of events in which Russia really wants to harm the United States and hinder NATO’s military work and the Alliance’s political objectives. In this case, the Russian side could launch an intercontinental rocket and undermine its combat unit at high altitude over the United States. The resulting electromagnetic impulse could damage the basic infrastructure of the state. Another Russian delegate said: if one rocket fails, another will fly after it.
Based on these statements, the author of the report for the Commission on EMI makes far-reaching conclusions. In addition, he is inclined to trust not the best sources and take their information on faith. So, considering threats in cyberspace (p. 11), P.V. Prai, citing foreign sources, writes that in December 2015 and December 2016. Russia arranged information attacks. The consequence of such cyber attacks was a power outage in the western regions of Ukraine and in Kiev.
Estimated scenarios for the use of EMP weapons may look believable or overly bold. However, some of them look very strange. Thus, a hypothetical situation is seriously considered in which Middle Eastern terrorists launch a rocket attack on Italy and disable its objects with the help of an electromagnetic pulse (p. 45). Iran and the DPRK are indicated as sources of weapons and material for such an operation. How and why Pyongyang and Tehran should begin to cooperate with the "Islamic State" is not specified.
In general, the report "Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare" looks very strange. Realistic fears and assessments in it are accompanied by controversial theses and overly loose assumptions. All this dramatically reduces its value. In addition, the value of the report is negatively affected by the fact that it is positioned in the media as an official Pentagon document submitted to Congress. It is unlikely that a serious document needs such untruthful “advertising”.
The document, which attracted the attention of the publication The Washingtin Free Beacon, and then other media, causes a lot of doubts and suspicions. Apparently, we are talking about a certain paper “for domestic consumption”, connected with the interests and objectives of a political group in the United States. At the same time, despite the constant mention of third countries, the report is not directly related to them. Foreign developments, both real and perceived, turn out to be only a pretext for frightening statements and forecasts. In addition, for some unknown reasons, the report from the middle of 2017 began to be discussed only in January of 2019.
A bit of reality
It should be recalled that electromagnetic weapons are actually being developed by several states and may well enter service. However, for obvious reasons, the developers of such systems are in no hurry to disclose all the details, which contributes to the emergence of various versions, assumptions and rumors. It is known that research and development work on the subject of EMP-weapons is also being conducted in our country.
A few years ago, information appeared in the national press about the development of a promising missile system with a warhead in the form of an electromagnetic warhead. This product has become known under the name "Alabuga". However, later, officials denied the development of such a missile system. At the same time, they clarified that the “Alabuga” code refers to the research work on the study of the prospects of electromagnetic radiation. In the autumn of 2017, it became known that a number of domestic enterprises are now working on the creation of promising weapons suitable for use in practice, and in this project the results of the research and development work "Alabuga" are used. In the future, various rumors reappeared, but official reports on this matter were no longer received.
Currently, the leading countries are indeed showing an interest in armaments that hit enemy targets with a powerful electromagnetic pulse. There is some information about the development of such systems and about their early entry into service. Thus, in the near or medium term, the leading countries of the world can really get fundamentally new weapons with special capabilities. This means that the last year's report for the Commission on EMI-threats and the latest publications in the foreign press still have some relevance to real events. However, the realism of individual predictions is not a worthy excuse for overly bold assumptions and implausible scenarios.
Based on:
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-russia-building-super-emp-bombs-for-blackout-warfare/
http://fantaluciano.altervista.org
http://empcommission.org/
https://fas.org/
https://tass.ru/
https://vz.ru/
It should be recalled the main provisions of the concept of weapons using electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Such a weapon is a generator of short-term powerful impulse and is intended to combat the enemy's electronic systems. Powerful electromagnetic radiation should create interference in the electrical circuits of enemy equipment and literally burn it. After a successful attack with the use of electromagnetic radiation, in theory, the enemy is deprived of the possibility of using communication and control tools, locators and even onboard equipment systems.
"Mayak" and the report
This time, another article in the American edition of The Washington Free Beacon caused anxiety. Bill Hertz’s regular contributor, 24, in January published an article titled “China, Russia Building Super-EMP Bombs for 'Blackout Warfare'” - “China and Russia are creating a super-EMP bomb for the“ outage war ”. The reason for the appearance of this article was the publication of the report “Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare” (“Scenarios of nuclear and EMI attacks and combined fighting in cyberspace”).
This report in 2017 was prepared for the recently dissolved non-state Commission on EMP Attack. The paper cited a number of facts and assumptions about the EMI-weapon and its possible impact on the situation in the world. The author of the report was Dr. Peter Vincent Pry.
In his article, B. Hertz cited the most interesting quotes from the report. First of all, he was interested in the capabilities of different countries in the context of EMI systems, as well as the scope of the latter and the results of such attacks. According to the report for a non-governmental organization, several "unreliable" countries are currently developing their own electromagnetic weapons, and in the future are able to use them to solve their military-political tasks. Objects for EMI charges can be objects in Europe, North America, and the Middle and Far East.
P.V. Pry points out that the development of EMP weapons is underway in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Such developments are considered in the context of "the fighting of the sixth generation", implying an attack of military and civilian objects in cyberspace, as well as using electromagnetic impulses. In connection with the possible influence on the enemy's energy networks, such ideas are also called the “Blackout War”.
As a source of "combat" EMR is proposed to use nuclear ammunition. In this case, there are different ways of their use with a different effect. Thus, the undermining of a nuclear charge at low altitude reduces the radius of destruction of electromagnetic radiation, but increases the power of impact on the enemy. Increasing the height of the blasting results is counterproductive: an increase in radius and a reduction in power. At the same time obtaining outstanding results is possible. Thus, undermining a nuclear charge of unnamed power at an altitude of 30 km, according to the calculations of the author of the report, can lead to disastrous consequences for the infrastructure of North America.
The “Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare” talk also suggested possible scenarios of hypothetical armed conflicts using EMP weapons. According to the authors, Russia can use its own systems of this kind against the NATO contingent in Europe, there is also a threat to the continental United States. China allegedly may strike an electromagnetic pulse on the infrastructure of Taiwan. The targets for the North Korean weapons are assigned to Taiwan and Japan. Iran is able to use EMR against Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Further in the report even more interesting estimates are given, which are also quoted by B. Hertz. Terrorists from the Islamic State group (banned in Russia) allegedly can purchase EMP charges from the DPRK, as well as get short-range missiles from Iran. Then missiles with an unusual warhead can be used to attack the Mediterranean countries. P.V. Pry also suggests that Pyongyang is able to sell its weapons to other terrorist organizations, and this will also lead to a strike on third countries.
For obvious reasons, in the Free Beacon the part of the report is particularly detailed cited on possible EMR strikes on the territory of North America and the United States in particular. In particular, data on the quantitative features of a hypothetical attack are given. So, all 14 nuclear warheads (power not specified) with undermining at an altitude of 60 miles with their electromagnetic pulses are able to disable the key infrastructure of the United States. The second series of such attacks makes useless the main objects of the army, including strategic nuclear forces.
The report indicates that the danger to the United States is the activity of several “dictatorial regimes”. On American targets, Russia, China, the DPRK and Iran can hit, not counting terrorist organizations. At the same time, there is sufficiently detailed and plausible information about some projects of this kind. For example, the Russian military and officials repeatedly told about the development of weapons based on electromagnetic impulses.
Article publication Free Beacon, based on the report of P.V. Phraya attracted the attention of readers and became the reason for a number of new publications in various media. The discussion of electromagnetic weapons, their capabilities and potential impact on the situation in the world has been going on for several days now.
Oddities of the report
B. Hertz from The Washington Free Beacon quoted only a few quotes from the Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare report. The document itself includes 65 pages and simply does not fit in a small article. In this regard, outside the article in Free Beacon left a lot of interesting information. For example, it referred only to the theses of the report directly related to the use of EMP weapons, whereas the source document also considered threats in cyberspace, nuclear weapons, etc. Also, the report had some features that do not allow to show to him with particular confidence.
Contrary to various reprints in the media of different countries, the 2017 report of the year is not directly related to the Pentagon or the US Congress. He was prepared by a “private” expert for a non-governmental organization, which, moreover, had recently ceased its activities. These circumstances show the level of the document and its potential in the context of influencing the military policy of the United States. Perhaps the congressmen could have read the report and learned some facts from it (or fiction), but they would hardly have taken it seriously.
The document also contains very bold estimates and extremely interesting assumptions. Some of them are based on too loose assumptions, hardly acceptable for a serious report. However, P.V. Pry remembers some of the events of the past, takes into account the current political agenda, and then draws conclusions based on them. His inventions and assumptions can, at a minimum, raise questions, but at the same time are “politically correct” and meet the interests of some circles in the United States and other countries.
For example, as one of the evidence in favor of Russia's ability and desire to use its hypothetical EMI weapon, events of twenty years ago are cited (p. 3). In May, the 1999 of the year in Vienna hosted a Russia-NATO meeting dedicated to current events in the Balkans. During this event, the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Lukin made an interesting statement. He offered to present a picture of events in which Russia really wants to harm the United States and hinder NATO’s military work and the Alliance’s political objectives. In this case, the Russian side could launch an intercontinental rocket and undermine its combat unit at high altitude over the United States. The resulting electromagnetic impulse could damage the basic infrastructure of the state. Another Russian delegate said: if one rocket fails, another will fly after it.
Based on these statements, the author of the report for the Commission on EMI makes far-reaching conclusions. In addition, he is inclined to trust not the best sources and take their information on faith. So, considering threats in cyberspace (p. 11), P.V. Prai, citing foreign sources, writes that in December 2015 and December 2016. Russia arranged information attacks. The consequence of such cyber attacks was a power outage in the western regions of Ukraine and in Kiev.
Estimated scenarios for the use of EMP weapons may look believable or overly bold. However, some of them look very strange. Thus, a hypothetical situation is seriously considered in which Middle Eastern terrorists launch a rocket attack on Italy and disable its objects with the help of an electromagnetic pulse (p. 45). Iran and the DPRK are indicated as sources of weapons and material for such an operation. How and why Pyongyang and Tehran should begin to cooperate with the "Islamic State" is not specified.
In general, the report "Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-arms Cyber Warfare" looks very strange. Realistic fears and assessments in it are accompanied by controversial theses and overly loose assumptions. All this dramatically reduces its value. In addition, the value of the report is negatively affected by the fact that it is positioned in the media as an official Pentagon document submitted to Congress. It is unlikely that a serious document needs such untruthful “advertising”.
The document, which attracted the attention of the publication The Washingtin Free Beacon, and then other media, causes a lot of doubts and suspicions. Apparently, we are talking about a certain paper “for domestic consumption”, connected with the interests and objectives of a political group in the United States. At the same time, despite the constant mention of third countries, the report is not directly related to them. Foreign developments, both real and perceived, turn out to be only a pretext for frightening statements and forecasts. In addition, for some unknown reasons, the report from the middle of 2017 began to be discussed only in January of 2019.
A bit of reality
It should be recalled that electromagnetic weapons are actually being developed by several states and may well enter service. However, for obvious reasons, the developers of such systems are in no hurry to disclose all the details, which contributes to the emergence of various versions, assumptions and rumors. It is known that research and development work on the subject of EMP-weapons is also being conducted in our country.
A few years ago, information appeared in the national press about the development of a promising missile system with a warhead in the form of an electromagnetic warhead. This product has become known under the name "Alabuga". However, later, officials denied the development of such a missile system. At the same time, they clarified that the “Alabuga” code refers to the research work on the study of the prospects of electromagnetic radiation. In the autumn of 2017, it became known that a number of domestic enterprises are now working on the creation of promising weapons suitable for use in practice, and in this project the results of the research and development work "Alabuga" are used. In the future, various rumors reappeared, but official reports on this matter were no longer received.
Currently, the leading countries are indeed showing an interest in armaments that hit enemy targets with a powerful electromagnetic pulse. There is some information about the development of such systems and about their early entry into service. Thus, in the near or medium term, the leading countries of the world can really get fundamentally new weapons with special capabilities. This means that the last year's report for the Commission on EMI-threats and the latest publications in the foreign press still have some relevance to real events. However, the realism of individual predictions is not a worthy excuse for overly bold assumptions and implausible scenarios.
Based on:
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-russia-building-super-emp-bombs-for-blackout-warfare/
http://fantaluciano.altervista.org
http://empcommission.org/
https://fas.org/
https://tass.ru/
https://vz.ru/
Information