Targets and victims of directed energy weapons
Introduction
It has become fashionable to discuss new military technologies in the domestic media without understanding the subject of discussion.
Weapon directed energy is not an exception, but rather a typical example.
Russian-language "Wikipedia" so far, this is not helpful, since the development of this technology is ahead of the ability of its editors to track and understand current information, especially since most military applications in all countries are secret in nature.
Therefore, rare scientific results, not always recorded even in decent scientific journals, are presented as a world achievement of Russian scientists.
This is not a tragedy, but simply evidence of insufficient mastery of the modern categorical apparatus in this area or an attempt to present our own special approach to classification, which may entail technical misunderstanding and possible legal consequences, including in the field of international law.
But domestic science and industry in this area is at the forefront, as the President and Defense Minister regularly report to the Russian people, presenting new samples of Russian directed energy weapons.
And indeed it is.
(VO has also written enough about this. Links will be given at the end of the article).
At the same time, Russia, naturally, indignantly rejects any involvement in the possible damage to the health of Russians and foreigners (including the so-called Havana syndrome).
The author, too, will not multiply conspiracy theories, but will try to approach the problem from natural-scientific, including humanitarian and philosophical positions, which, in fact, corresponds to the VO "Opinion" heading (which is not always shared by the editors).
Therefore, let us speculate about the basics of directed energy weapons, using the terminology and approaches accepted and discussed now in the scientific community and in most Western countries.
Military inquiries of geopolitics
In the foreseeable future, the main goal of wars (if they do not go beyond the category of local ones) will be the desire to redistribute territories with not yet depleted reserves of natural resources.
They will be conducted mainly by secret methods of special operations.
Often their ultimate goal is not the destruction of the enemy's manpower, not the occupation of territories, but the disorganization of the enemy's efforts in the political and military spheres, forcing them to accept the proposed conditions.
Such a war requires non-lethal or non-lethal weapons. Moreover, international treaties, conventions, moratoriums have limited the possibility of using especially cruel types of weapons and ammunition.
Directed energy weapons, in addition to the obvious ones, can have several special advantages over conventional weapons:
Focused Energy Weapons can be used discreetly; radiation above and below the visible spectrum is invisible and does not generate sound.
Light (photons in the optical range) is practically unaffected by gravity, wind and Coriolis force, which gives it an almost perfectly flat trajectory. This makes the scope much more accurate and extends the range to the line of sight, limited only by diffraction and beam propagation (which reduce power and attenuate the effect), and absorption or scattering by the atmosphere.
Light (photons in the optical range) is practically unaffected by gravity, wind and Coriolis force, which gives it an almost perfectly flat trajectory. This makes the scope much more accurate and extends the range to the line of sight, limited only by diffraction and beam propagation (which reduce power and attenuate the effect), and absorption or scattering by the atmosphere.
Scientists of many military powers are working on means of destruction that not only disable enemy weapons, which can in principle be used against people, but do not cause irreversible physical harm to them (of course, it is easier to kill, but in certain regimes a similar humanitarian effect is also achieved).
Sometimes non-lethal weapons are called humane. Perhaps, but only if it is applied in such a way as not to incapacitate the personnel serving the enemy's weapons and military equipment.
How this can be done is not very clear.
To hit, for example, a tank so that the crew gets off with a slight indisposition?
It is unlikely that developers who are able to measure the power and operating modes of devices with the need to inflict minimal harm to personnel will sit behind the handles of non-lethal weapons.
Of course, non-lethality, all the more so declared in relation to all types of directed energy weapons, is demagoguery.
Definition
Directed-energy weapon (DEW) has long attracted the attention of the military - and budgets - and is now on the cusp of technological maturity.
While doubts remain that certain types can be fully operational, recent tests of DEW prototypes have shown that this form of weaponry has gone beyond a purely theoretical concept.
As the underlying technology develops and is tested outside the laboratory, it is likely to attract increased attention from the military and governments seeking to establish technical superiority over the enemy, including through the development of weapons that can be used in space.
At least several countries, including the United States, China and Russia, have already announced these plans.
In a broad sense, DEW can be defined as systems that produce
"A beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles" that is used as a direct means to incapacitate, injure or kill people or incapacitate, degrade, damage or destroy objects.
Notably, this definition excludes sonic and ultrasonic weapons, which use sound waves rather than electromagnetic waves to target a target.
(Railguns, which the media often refer to as directed weapons, are also from another opera.)
Therefore, we will be guided by the instructions of the "leader of the world proletariat":
“Before we unite, and in order to unite, we must first decisively and definitely separate ourselves.”
DEW currently exists in three main forms:
• lasers capable of shooting down planes and missiles or using bright light to "blind" or disorient people;
• weapons using electromagnetic waves of other wavelengths, including millimeter waves or microwaves, which can be directed against people or technical targets;
• weapons that use particle beams to destroy or damage the target's molecular or atomic structure.
History
Archimedes.
According to legend, Archimedes created an adjustable focal length mirror (or, more likely, a series of mirrors focused on a common point) to focus sunlight on the ships of the Roman fleetwhen they invaded Syracuse, setting them on fire.
Many tried to refute this event, starting with the Soviet physicist Perelman and the American TV series "Mythbusters".
But they, apparently, were far from Archimedes.
It was only in the XNUMXst century that attempts to repeat this feat were crowned with success: in particular, an experiment by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that the creation of mirror weapons is at least possible, if not necessarily practical.
Archimedes' heat ray summary.
In practice, many more mirrors will be required than shown in the picture, and the result may simply be soldier's sweat, temporary blindness and confusion, rather than fire.
The mirrors may have been polished metal, and the viewing holes were drilled in the center for use when aiming.
The mirrors may have been polished metal, and the viewing holes were drilled in the center for use when aiming.
Death ray.
In 1935 the British ministry aviation asked Robert Watson-Watt of the radio research station, is a death ray possible?
He and his colleague Arnold Wilkins quickly came to the conclusion that this was not possible, but, as a result, suggested using the radio to detect aircraft. And this marked the beginning of the development of the radar in the UK.
Development of the Third Reich.
The first reliably functioning betatron was created by DV Kerst only in 1940-1941 in the USA, at the University of Illinois.
D. Kerst near his betatrons, small - at 2,3 MeV, large - at 25 MeV
It was in the betatron that Kerst first studied in detail the quasiperiodic transverse oscillations that a particle performs around an equilibrium orbit, now called betatron oscillations.
Among the directed energy weapons that the Nazis investigated were X-ray weapons developed by Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Hans, and Fritz Hutermans.
They built an electron accelerator called the Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the German Air Force.
It was planned to be used as an anti-aircraft weapon to disrupt the ignition in aircraft engines and disable them within the reach of anti-aircraft artillery. This weapon was a success but was captured by the Americans in 1945.
Let me explain with an obvious example.
Your car stops for no apparent reason.
?
There is no spark.
The reason is the fascist betatron?
?
There is no spark.
The reason is the fascist betatron?
Naturally, the consequences for the aircraft were more tragic.
It was a brilliant scientific and technical solution for that time.
Current state
Advances in a number of sciences and technology applications are currently driving significant advances in the development of lasers and other DEW devices.
However, there is no consensus on their usefulness or desirability: for some, DEW will be at the forefront of a new wave of weapons; others remain skeptical of both the desirability and the operational or strategic usefulness of such weapons systems.
Many, especially politicians, have become wary of what they perceive as lack of results despite billions of dollars in investment.
Existing problems.
Consideration of current and anticipated developments in these weapons suggests several areas of concern. Historically, systems that harm objects by non-kinetic means have often been viewed as of concern or requiring special consideration.
Certain DEWs may have the potential to circumvent existing legal restrictions and prohibitions on weapons, such as the ban on blinding laser weapons, creating effects comparable to prohibited systems, but not falling within their technical definitions.
Traditional interpretations of protective principles, including the prohibition against causing unnecessary injury or unnecessary suffering to combatants, may be challenged by new ways of causing physical and mental harm.
There appears to be little publicly available data and significant uncertainty regarding the environmental and health impacts of DEW.
DEWs are being promoted for use in a variety of settings and purposes, risking further blurring the line between law enforcement and military action, which have traditionally been governed by different regulatory regimes.
Brief description of funds
Lasers.
Military laser technology currently being developed falls into three broad categories: chemical lasers; electric and solid-state lasers, including fiber-optic lasers; and free electron lasers, the latest and most sophisticated.
Chemical lasers operate on a potentially toxic mixture of chemicals that require complex logistics to handle and transport and pose significant environmental and health risks.
Electric and solid state lasers are more stable and easier to transport, but are currently not very efficient because most of the energy needed to create a stable laser beam is lost as heat. Those working to further develop such lasers have struggled to develop sufficient cooling mechanisms to counteract this, although progress is evident.
Free Electron Lasers use a stream of electrons that travels through alternating magnetic fields to generate megawatt laser beams. They avoid both the difficulties of using chemical fuels (both in chemical lasers) and the problem of heat release (in both electric and solid-state lasers), but until recently they were very large (in fact, they are particle accelerators, functionally similar to Serpukhovsky).
The recent advent of more portable and relatively cheap laser systems based on advances in nanotechnology, battery power and optical fiber has rekindled enthusiasm for DEW in general and laser weapons in particular.
Lasers require a large amount of energy to hit a target, but the necessary additional power generators and sufficient cooling systems to counter thermal effects have traditionally occupied a significant amount of space that is not easy to provide for combat-ready vehicles.
On the other hand, lasers are not only becoming more portable, but also more economical than they once were, and certainly cheaper than their military alternative, often a missile.
On the other hand, lasers are not only becoming more portable, but also more economical than they once were, and certainly cheaper than their military alternative, often a missile.
Particle beams.
The particle beam weapon concept is based on sound scientific principles and experiments currently underway around the world. One of the most effective ways to damage or destroy a target is just overheat it until it stops working.
Beams of neutral particles do not attract as much attention as lasers, but are attractive in and of themselves. The weapon works by accelerating particles with no electrical charge, especially neutrons, to speeds close to the speed of light, and directing them towards a target.
Neutrons knock protons out of the nuclei of other particles they collide with, generating heat on the target.
This means that the particle beams do not just interact with the surface of the target, as lasers do, but instead they can penetrate the surface and affect the internal systems of the rocket.
While reflective surfaces can be used as an accidental means to redirect lasers, particle beams do not have this problem, penetrating directly through the mirror surface and damaging the intended target.
During the Cold War, the US and the USSR explored beam weapons for use both in the atmosphere and in space, but ultimately abandoned the idea as impracticable for military use.
Particle beam weapons are closer to conventional kinetic weapons than laser or electromagnetic weapons, as they rely on kinetic energy.
But instead of projectiles, they shoot atomic or subatomic particles at a target with the aim of destroying the molecular or atomic structure of that target. In fact, they rapidly heat the target molecules and / or atoms to the point that the target material explodes; in their effect, they are compared to lightning.
These weapons can be classified into two types:
- weapons using particles (for example, electrons or protons) having an electrical charge suitable for use in the Earth's atmosphere,
- and neutral particle beam weaponscomposed of particles that are electrically neutral, which are better suited for use in space.
Because of the way the particle beams interact with the target, applying additional layers of protective material is unlikely to limit the damage done.
Moreover, as one of the developers of the Soviet proton system for space weapons said (in an interview available on YouTube):
Success was achieved in the management and targeting of protons, which made it possible, even with the technologies of the XNUMXth century, to “wrap them up to destroy areal targets”. These possible targets were also mentioned in the interview.
US Navy laser weapons in action.
Around the same time, in 1989, the US Department of Defense conducted a beam weapon test called the Aboard Missile Beam Experiments (BEAR) project.
BEAR had a large booster and a power source that made it too heavy to launch into orbit.
A piece of aluminum burned out during ground testing of a BEAR army weapon.
A new stage in American development
The Pentagon last year announced a space-based directional energy weapon that could destroy enemy missiles shortly after take off. The weapon, called a beam of neutral particles, will be tested from orbit in 2023.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) wants a total of $ 380 million by fiscal 2023 to develop directed energy weapons.
Weapons from a beam of neutral particles work by accelerating particles without an electrical charge, especially neutrons, to speeds close to the speed of light, and directing them towards a target. Accelerated neutrons knock protons out of particle nuclei in their target, releasing heat that can damage the target.
Particle beams can be more efficient than lasers, which burn only the surface of their targets. Particle beams of sufficient power can penetrate the surface of an enemy missile, igniting its fuel supply, melting its mechanical components, and igniting its electronics.
Particle beams are also capable of bypassing laser deflection measures such as shiny mirror surfaces.
They can be used to destroy ballistic missiles in the so-called "acceleration phase" - knocking them down a few seconds after launch, while they are still accelerating, and before they release their warheads.
During this phase, which only lasts about five minutes, the missiles move relatively slowly and produce a massive heat signature that makes them easier to detect and track.
Particle beams can be more efficient than lasers, which burn only the surface of their targets. Particle beams of sufficient power can penetrate the surface of an enemy missile, igniting its fuel supply, melting its mechanical components, and igniting its electronics.
Particle beams are also capable of bypassing laser deflection measures such as shiny mirror surfaces.
They can be used to destroy ballistic missiles in the so-called "acceleration phase" - knocking them down a few seconds after launch, while they are still accelerating, and before they release their warheads.
During this phase, which only lasts about five minutes, the missiles move relatively slowly and produce a massive heat signature that makes them easier to detect and track.
For a beam of neutral particles to work, it needs to maintain a coherent beam about 1 kilometers from low Earth orbit to Earth.
High Power Microwave (HPM)
Electromagnetic microwave weapons - the latest types of weapons, which are being worked on in the XNUMXst century, disabling the central nervous system, the brain, causing all sorts of discomfort, anxiety, despair, convulsions; interferes with the operation of computer systems, disables electronic equipment. Designed mainly to control an aggressive crowd committing illegal actions, it is also being developed as a weapon for the army.
Microwave weapons are being developed in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Sweden and other countries. Small dimensions, low weight (compactness) allow it to be used as a tactical weapon for offensive and defensive purposes. The development of personal portable weapons of this kind is also underway (work is underway to create a paralyzer that transmits electricity through an ultraviolet beam over a distance of up to 2 km).
Powerful microwave weapons use electricity to power a microwave generator, which emits very short pulses - typically nanoseconds to microseconds in duration - of microwave radiation with an output power of megawatts to gigawatts.
Future HPM weapons could emit beams of radiation several degrees wide to attack targets in specific locations, or emit multidirectional radiation to destroy electronic components over wider areas.
The effects produced by HPM applications can range from temporary disruption of electronic systems such as computers to the physical combustion of systems that are not immune to the strong electromagnetic fields generated by the HPM pulse.
Since HPM beams cannot be focused as accurately as lasers, the energy per unit area in HPM beams decreases significantly with increasing distance. This can impose significant operational limitations compared to longer range laser weapons.
Since HPM weapons can affect all unshielded electronic systems within their beam, care must be taken when using them to avoid collateral damage to nearby friendly systems.
RF weapons send out intense bursts of energy at microwave frequencies or lower that disable or destroy electronics. Such bursts can be caused by both nuclear and conventional explosives, but since these mechanisms result in omnidirectional, broadband energy bursts, they cannot be properly called "directed" energy.
RF devices that produce directional energy usually resemble radar transmitters with steerable antennas for pointing their beams. It can be argued that radio frequency weapons, transmitting in all directions, but at strictly limited frequencies, are a form of directed energy.
HPM Weapon Vitality.
Moisture in the air absorbs microwaves, and uncertainty about how electromagnetic energy travels through structures makes it difficult to predict how much damage an HPM weapon could cause. In addition, countermeasures against high-performance weapons can be as simple as surrounding sensitive electronics with a Faraday cage (a pan on the head is also an option, although it is safer to shield yourself completely).
Impulse that can affect electronic systems at a distance, HPM weapons have the ability to reduce collateral damage. Finally, HPM weapons are inherently configurable, allowing the user to adjust the effects applied to the target.
The classified nature of most US Department of Defense HPM programs makes the public and academic examination of these programs problematic.
Types and types of directed energy weapons
Here is a far from complete list to complement the above.
Microwave guns.
Microwave cannons - beams of powerful microwave radiation emitted by these weapons disable any electronic equipment, computer systems, but do not affect people. The weapon is intended to destroy the equipment of command posts, while saving the lives of people. They are currently being installed on cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft.
Nuclear-pumped microwave weapons.
In 2012, one of the Russian scientific publications reported that at RFNC-VNIITF (Snezhinsk), a gas laser pumped from a nuclear reactor, operating on the atomic transition of xenon, with a wavelength of 2,03 μm was created. The output laser pulse energy was 500 J with a peak power of 1,3 MW. This device is the most compact in terms of the volume of active gas medium used (specific energy of laser radiation was 32 J / dm³).
The head developer of "Peresvet" is also called the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF), located in Sarov.
It is not difficult to assume, given the repeated reservations of leaders of different levels in the media, after the presentation of the project by the President of Russia (and the awarding of other persons who were directly in charge of nuclear projects) that Peresvet is just such a means. At least in many American sources, this assumption is voiced.
Plasma Tasers.
Plasma tasers are a weapon that shoots a stream of conductive aerosol or a dense stream of tiny conductive fibers, or a stream of plasma, through which a high-voltage electrical impulse is transmitted, at a distance of up to 7 m, towards the alleged victim, which strikes an object.
The conductive channel can also be formed by ionizing the air with an ultraviolet laser. At present, it is realistic to create a laser with a power of 10 TW with a pulse duration of 000 ps. This is enough to ionize the air at 0,4 m and carry out an electric shock with a voltage of 100 kV.
Microwave emitter.
Microwave emitter - a device that emits a beam of electromagnetic waves for several hundred meters, which disable electronics, can penetrate the human body (rays with a wavelength of 3 mm to a depth of 0,3–0,4 mm), causing molecules to boil water in the subcutaneous layer.
The skin temperature rises to 45–80 ° С.
Acute, unbearable pain forces a person to leave the area of exposure to microwave radiation. At the same time, no damage remains on the skin. Microwave emitters with a capacity of 1 GW (its weight is 20 kg) and more have been created (with a power of 20 GW, the weight of the apparatus reaches 180 kg). It is planned to equip artillery shells and cruise missiles with electromagnetic radiation generators.
Energy burner.
The Active Denial System (ADS), one of several weapons developed under the Controlled Effects Weapons Program, is a device that emits electromagnetic oscillations in the millimeter wave range with a frequency of about 95 GHz, which has a short-term shock effect on people ...
The principle of operation is based on the fact that when a beam hits a person, 83% of the energy of this radiation is absorbed by the upper layer of the skin.
In humans, the reaction to radiation occurs in 2–3 s, the unbearable pain caused by heating of the skin disappears either after switching off the radiation source or after leaving the radiation zone.
If the person does not leave the zone, then after 250 s he will receive a skin burn.
Metal objects (keys, glasses, buttons) are strongly heated under the action of the beam, and burns will also occur if they come into contact with them. By adjusting the radiation power, selecting the exposure parameters, it is possible to achieve in a person the sensations of an acid burn, false sensations of repulsive pungent odors, an unpleasant taste, and cause forced muscle contraction.
The system forms a beam 2 m wide, the damaging effect of which remains at a distance of up to 500 m. During combat tests, specialists worked out several different scenarios for using ADS - for example, to disrupt an enemy counterattack, defeat enemy firing points and support the advancing forces.
However, the main purpose of the installation remains to disperse a hostile crowd and remove unwanted persons from the territory of protected objects. According to the results of the tests, the microwave gun was recognized as an effective and completely safe weapon, although some skeptics indicate insufficient knowledge of the long-term consequences of such irradiation.
Destroyer of snipers.
A device for fighting snipers is a device that is an antenna with 7 microphones, a unit with an electronic mini-computer for processing the received information and a control panel. Microphones pick up the direction of its movement by the sound or air wave emanating from the flying bullet, the data is processed in 2 seconds, after which the sniper's position will be destroyed. Installed on SUVs.
Veiling laser.
The Veil Laser is capable of creating a wave of light that blinds the sniper for a short period of time. The shooter's location remains unknown.
The principle of action is based on the use of the phenomenon of luminescence of the lens of the eye in the ultraviolet range at waves of a certain length.
Shocker with a plasma channel.
The electrolaser is a type of wireless stun weapon that can also be classified as a directed-energy weapon.
It works by using a laser beam to create a laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC). A fraction of a second after the formation of such a plasma channel, a powerful electric discharge is sent through it to the target, thereby the entire system works as a high-energy and long-range version of an electric stun gun.
In fact, it is a remote electroshock weapon.
Fried People.
In the USA, the "Ray of Pain" magnetic cannon was created. It generates microwave radiation that causes severe pain to a person, but does not cause serious damage. The flash causes a sensation of unbearable temperature in the body. The gun can be used in peacekeeping and police operations.
The American program for the creation of special means that affect the human body with electromagnetic radiation, as a result of which it quickly heats up and becomes inoperative, was called "Fried People". It was suspended: the units are too large for transportation. Yet.
In addition, serious studies of the water structures of the skin were needed in order not to harm human health. The key issue is avoiding drugs that cause irreversible or fatal damage. And from those to whom they are directed, and from random people.
Active Denial System.
It is a millimeter-wave source that heats the water in the target's skin and thus causes unbearable pain. It was developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot control purposes.
Although the system is designed to inflict severe pain without causing permanent damage, concerns have been raised as to whether the system could cause permanent eye damage. So far, no long-term side effects of microwave exposure have been tested. It can also destroy unshielded electronics.
Vigilant Eagle.
It is a proposed airport security system that directs high-frequency microwaves at any projectile fired at an aircraft. The system consists of a missile detection and tracking (MDT) subsystem, a command and control system and a scanning matrix.
MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared (IR) cameras. The control and monitoring system determines the launch point of the missile. The scanning array emits microwaves that disrupt the guidance system of the surface-to-air missile, deflecting it away from the aircraft.
Bofors HPM Blackout.
It is a super-powerful microwave weapon that is said to be capable of destroying a wide range of commercial electronic equipment at close range and is not believed to be lethal.
Green Pine radar.
The Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of the EL / M-2080 Green Pine radar makes it a hypothetical candidate for a directional energy weapon that concentrates pulses of radar energy on targeted missiles. Energy spikes are designed to hit missiles through antennas or sensor holes, where they can trick targeting systems, scramble computer memory, or even burn sensitive electronic components.
Aircraft radars.
AESA radars (a type of phased antenna that is a computer controlled antenna array in which a beam of radio waves can be electronically controlled to a point in different directions without moving the antenna) mounted on fighters has been identified as directed energy weapons against missiles. However, a senior US Air Force officer noted: "They are not particularly suitable for creating a weapon impact on missiles due to the limited size, power and field of view of the antenna."
Eurofighter "Typhoon" (PAR without fairing) is a fourth generation multipurpose fighter. The aircraft was put into service with the Air Forces of Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Austria and Saudi Arabia. Contracts for the supply to Oman, Kuwait and Qatar have been signed.
A potentially fatal effect occurs only within 100 meters, and a destructive effect at a distance of about one kilometer.
Russian defense industry.
In Russia, according to official data, microwave weapons have existed since 2015. Then representatives of the United Instrument-Making Corporation (OPK, part of Rostec) reported that the troops would receive high-frequency guns that could disable enemy aircraft within a radius of 10 kilometers.
This cannon includes a powerful relativistic generator, a reflector antenna, a command and control system, a transmission system - such a set of equipment is installed on the chassis of a Buk anti-aircraft missile system. According to the heads of the defense industry complex, there are no analogues of this microwave gun in the world yet.
The Russian defense industry is close to having the first electromagnetic cannons at the disposal of the army. It became known that prototypes of this type of weapons on tests were able to hit air targets at 10 km. Prior to that, such guns could afford a maximum range of one to two kilometers.
Americans write that their microwave cannon can
effectively disable radio-electronic equipment for reconnaissance, communications, navigation and microwave radiation control. Microwave weapons disrupt the functioning of the brain and central nervous system. The person begins to hear non-existent noises and whistles. This weapon can also strike the internal organs of a person with the likelihood of a lethal outcome.
When exposed to low frequency electromagnetic radiation, the human brain releases chemicals that regulate its behavior. They can cause symptoms of various diseases, make a person fall asleep instantly, or, conversely, stay awake for a long time.
And the so-called "electromagnetic pistols", which shoot with bunches of energy, are capable of causing convulsions similar to epileptic ones. "Thermal pistol" in seconds can warm up a human body to a critical temperature - over 40 degrees Celsius. The unbearable burning sensation puts the soldier to flight.
When exposed to low frequency electromagnetic radiation, the human brain releases chemicals that regulate its behavior. They can cause symptoms of various diseases, make a person fall asleep instantly, or, conversely, stay awake for a long time.
And the so-called "electromagnetic pistols", which shoot with bunches of energy, are capable of causing convulsions similar to epileptic ones. "Thermal pistol" in seconds can warm up a human body to a critical temperature - over 40 degrees Celsius. The unbearable burning sensation puts the soldier to flight.
It would be strange if the Russian gun worked less efficiently.
Therefore, it is appropriate to recall, without pointing the finger at anyone, the hypothetical system to generate Havana syndrome, which allows, due to the Frey effect, to convey verbal commands to the victim, who will perceive them as their own inner voice.
All other symptoms appear to be a side effect of misconfiguration, targeting, or disproportionate power.
Dimensions.
The development of "military microwaves" for a long time was constrained by their huge dimensions, but recently such devices have significantly decreased in size and can be installed on a tower. tank and even at the head of a tactical missile.
Microwave generators are thrown into enemy territory using conventional ammunition.
However, there are also technical problems, consisting in the difficulty of obtaining radiation of the required power at an acceptable weight, dimensions and cost of the installation.
Humanitarian and legal issues.
The DEW perspective raises questions within several bodies of international law, most notably those that place restrictions on the use of force. Some DEWs are classified as "non-lethal" or "less lethal" weapons, and their supporters distinguish them from "lethal" weapons.
In the civilian sphere, the sale, power and use of technologies underlying DEW lasers, microwave beams and particle accelerators (and in particular ionizing radiation) are regulated to varying degrees and the assumption that they can harm human health is already recognized as national legal regimes.
DEW's human rights concerns primarily concern the rights to life, health, freedom of assembly (especially in the case of weapons that can be used to control crowds, such as millimeter and microwave weapons), and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading appeal.
Some DEWs are designed to operate silently and discreetly, such as millimeter-wave weapons that inflict severe pain without leaving visible marks or physical evidence of their use, making it easy to cover up abuse and raise liability concerns.
Depending on the width of the beam used, they can also negatively affect those around you.
Consistent with the 1990 UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by UN Law Enforcement Officials, an authoritative statement of international rules governing the use of force in law enforcement, “the development and deployment of non-lethal disabling weapons, must be carefully evaluated to minimize the risk of endangering unauthorized persons, and the use of such weapons must be carefully controlled».
Given the potential adverse effects of DEW and the uncertainty about their future development, caution is needed, both from a political point of view and from the point of view of international law.
This orientation should be aimed at addressing issues and problems arising from the established norms and principles of IHL and international human rights law, as well as other legal aspects such as environmental and space law.
As governments use DEWs in military and law enforcement operations, immediate action will be required to ensure that the risks they pose to human health and dignity are adequately recognized, evaluated and protected.
Whether capable DEW systems are a rapidly approaching reality or remain a more distant prospect, these advances will require careful and comprehensive scrutiny to understand their potential humanitarian and other implications.
However, they are not currently being actively considered on the agenda of any existing international mechanism.
International law.
Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) do not have an authoritative definition in international law and are not currently on the agenda of any existing multilateral mechanism.
However, there are a number of legal regimes that can apply to DEW. These range from national rules and guidelines for civilian use to international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law that can restrict or impede use in certain circumstances.
PS
Positioned as a non-lethal acoustic weapon that implements the concept of sado-acoustics (sado - this is not a derivative of the word "garden", but from the word "sadism"), was not included in this review, because it works on different principles. The author promises to write about this as well.
Information