MOODY AIR
FORCE BASE, Ga. (AP) -- The military
calls its new weapon an "active denial system,'' but that's an understatement.
It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about
to catch fire.
Apart from
causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless --
a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.
Military
officials say it could save the lives of innocent civilians and service members
in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The weapon
is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of
the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.
During the
first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a
large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and
acting out other scenarios that U.S. troops might encounter in war zones.
The
device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses and fired
beams from more than 500 yards away. That is nearly 17 times the range of
existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.
Anyone hit
by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of
heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was
intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to
ignite.
"This is
one of the key technologies for the future,'' said Marine Col. Kirk Hymes,
director of the non-lethal weapons program at Quantico, Va., which helped
develop the new weapon. "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of
force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in.''
The system
uses electromagnetic millimeter waves, which can penetrate only 1/64th of an
inch of skin, just enough to cause discomfort. By comparison, microwaves used
in the common kitchen appliance penetrate several inches of flesh.
The
millimeter waves cannot go through walls, but they can penetrate most clothing,
officials said. They refused to comment on whether the waves can go through
glass.
The weapon
could be mounted aboard ships, airplanes
and helicopters, and routinely used for security or anti-terrorism operations.
"There
should be no collateral damage to this,'' said Senior Airman Adam Navin, 22, of
Green Bay, Wis., who has served several tours in Iraq.
Navin and
two other airmen were role players in Wednesday's demonstration. They and 10
reporters who volunteered were shot with the beams. The beams easily penetrated
various layers of winter clothing.
The system
was developed by the military, but the two devices currently being evaluated
were built by defense contractor Raytheon.
Airman
Blaine Pernell, 22, of suburban New Orleans, said he could have used the system
during his four tours in Iraq, where he manned watchtowers around a base near Kirkuk. He said Iraqis constantly pulled up and faked car problems so they could scout out
U.S. forces.
"All we
could do is watch them,'' he said. But if they had the ray gun, troops "could
have dispersed them.''
advertisement
