Perhaps no species weapons today does not cause as many discussions as electromagnetic weapons. There are even two camps in the world that by this term mean different objects. Representatives of the first believe that electromagnetic weapons have great potential for development and power, possibly exceeding the power of nuclear weapons. Representatives of the second state that electromagnetic weapons should not be used to make Hollywood nonsense - a weapon, certainly promising, but not able to de-energize the whole city and paralyze the power system of the military base. Academician Fortov considers himself to be in the first camp and claims that high-grade electromagnetic weapons already exist. In his opinion, it is the future of electromagnetic weapons, because it is capable of disabling electronics at a great distance from the point of radiation. The academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences himself is inclined to attribute electromagnetic weapons to strategic ones, since they can have an active influence during a serious operation. Vladimir Fortov sees the direction of development of electromagnetic weapons in two main directions. The first direction is connected with microelectronics. Modern man can not imagine his existence without mobile devices. The modernization of the army also means equipping the troops with state-of-the-art microelectronic sensors, guidance systems and tracking devices. One can imagine what will happen if, with the help of a preventive electromagnetic pulse, the guidance system of a modern bomber’s missiles or the system of its global positioning is disabled.
The second direction, according to Vladimir Fortov, is the development of large capacity, enclosed in a very limited volume. None of the existing filters today is capable of blocking a powerful impulse, a billion-watt value, which will be able to pose an almost impossible task for modern power engineering.
The words of the Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences can be mistaken for fiction and associated with an unnecessarily played out fantasy, but for example the situation that arose in the world shortly before the appearance of nuclear weapons is appropriate here. At that time there were quite a few people in the world who ridiculed the fact of the possible existence of a nuclear bomb destroying all life within a radius of several kilometers around. However, Hiroshima became eloquent proof of the destructive power of the "non-peaceful" atom.
Proponents of more cautious views on electromagnetic weapons suggest that his only real strength lies in imparting an initial velocity to the battle projectile using a magnetic field. In this case, the electromagnetic weapon becomes an alternative to the principles of firearms. One example of this type of weapon is the so-called Gauss cannon. This gun represents a system consisting of a series of inductors mounted to a rectangular base; from a power source capable of producing short-term powerful pulses, as well as from the coil switching unit in a sequential mode. Batteries charge capacitors to a certain potential difference value. The shot itself - there is a discharge of capacitors on the coil turns. The principle of the Gauss gun is based on the core being drawn into the internal volume of the coil as it passes through the DC winding. To enhance the "destructive" power of the Gauss gun, a magnetic core is mounted on top of the coil. To increase the current in the coil is not slowed down, its winding must be made of a wire of sufficiently large cross section. The striking effect of this type of electromagnetic weapon depends on the capacitance of the capacitor system chosen. Of course, the power of such weapons is not yet considered as a competitive power of nuclear weapons.
But time is ticking. Already today, there are experimental developments that indicate that with a high level of isolation, electromagnetic weapons are capable of delivering a very significant blow to the forces of the enemy. It must be said that the size of such weapons is more than impressive. In this case, the main question remains the question of the option of the most effective use of electromagnetic weapons. The power of the systems of this type currently available (Silent Guardian and the domestic Knapsack) does not exceed one gigawatt, but they allow the creation of radiation of narrow directivity. The first variant of development is directly connected with a narrowly directed electromagnetic study, when the electron flow has a monofrequency, ensuring the defeat of the target. The second is connected with sources of direct conversion, which can have much smaller dimensions, and emit pulses with more energy.
It would seem that the advantages of the second option are obvious, but scientists are not in a hurry to move on to work on creating electromagnetic weapons based on direct conversion. This is due to the fact that such a weapon is capable of causing electrical breakdown in the propagation medium. It turns out that so far this path leads to a dead end, since the output will not be a powerful electromagnetic weapon capable of hitting targets, but a device that causes air to glow is a sort of firework for a lot of money.
Despite the fact that representatives of the two camps of scientists tend to see in an electromagnetic weapon, it would seem, different objects, there is an actual intersection of views. This intersection consists in the weapons of the type being described today, as well as in the variants of its use.
In the world there are several evidences of the use of electromagnetic weapons. One of the loudest themselves is the aerial attack of the American troops on the television center in Baghdad. The United States Air Force used a special 2,5 ton-controlled bomb equipped with a vircator (a group of high-volume microwave devices). After its use, Iraqi television could not broadcast for about an hour. Another evidence is the shedding of Iraqi air defense missiles "Tomahawk" with the same virkator. In this case, it was not possible to assess the true role of electromagnetic weapons, since at the same time other (classical) types of missiles worked on the same anti-aircraft objects. These testimonies are not unique, but, apparently, in terms of attempts to use EMO only the United States is involved.
Promising the use of electromagnetic weapons and to suppress the active protection of modern tanks. One directional impulse - and the modern machine turns into an unprotected metal toy that can be destroyed by conventional means. At the same time, the tank, like any other modern military vehicle, not only becomes vulnerable, but also for a short time loses the ability to respond blow to blow. In this regard, the development of electromagnetic weapons can be called among the priority tasks for modern military scientists. If such a technology is fully operational in any one country, it will undermine the balance of military power on the planet. It is difficult to imagine what could happen if the technology for creating powerful electromagnetic weapons falls into the hands of representatives of terrorist networks.