https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334078749_Millimeter-Wave_Energy_as_Weapon
ChapterPDF Available
Millimeter-Wave Energy as Weapon
June 2019
DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-20794-6_7
In book: Directed-Energy Beam Weapons (pp.377-396)
Authors:
Bahman Zohuri
Galaxy Advanced Engineering
Abstract and Figures
The US Marine Corps says that it has developed a 95 GHz system as an antipersonnel “heat ray” and is conducting tests on animals and volunteers. The supposedly nonlethal weapon, called “active denial technology,” has been in the works for the last 10 years at the Air Force Research Laboratory (Kirtland, NM), in tandem with the Marine Corps’ Joint Non-lethal Weapons Directorate. About $40 million has been spent developing the weapon, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), although it could be nearly another decade before it is used in conflict. The earliest estimate for deployment is 2009. The system includes a millimeter-wave energy source with waveguides to direct the energy to a dish antenna measuring about 3 × 3 m, which forms a beam that can be swept across a battlefield or hostile crowd. The aim is to deter or drive off adversaries caught out in the open with a beam that inflicts pain without causing permanent damage. According to an AFRL fact sheet, the 95 GHz energy penetrates 1/64 in. into the skin and produces an intense burning sensation that stops when the transmitter is switched off or when the individual moves out of the beam.
7.1 Introduction“It works by heating the water molecules in the top 1/64-of-an-inch layer of theskin,”said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. David Andersen.According to reports, a 2-s burst from the system can heat the skin to a temper-ature of 130 F. Elsewhere, the AFRL describes the sensation as similar to touchingan ordinary light bulb that has been left on for a while. “Unlike a light bulb,however,”says the AFRL fact sheet, “Active-Denial technology (i.e. known asActive Denial System (ADS)) will not cause rapid burning, because of the shallowpenetration of the beam and the low levels of energy used”(see Fig. 7.1).Beam size, whether it is a convergent, focused beam or a divergent beam, and itsrange are all classified information.
“This is a beam that is going to be directed. It’s not harmful to internal organsbecause it doesn’t penetrate the skin beyond 1/64 of an inch,”said ConradDziewulski, a spokesman for the directed energy division of AFRL. “It will beswept across the battlefield or directed at an individual for a few seconds.”Dziewulski said that the system was intended to protect military personnel againstsmall-arms fire, which is generally taken to mean a range of 1000 m. Elsewhere, thesystem is described as having a range of 700 yards.While early tests have been carried out using a fixed antenna, the military nowplans to develop a mobile version of the system, otherwise known as vehicle-mounted active denial system, or Vmads.AFRL said Vmads could be mounted on a high-mobility multipurpose wheeledvehicle (more commonly referred to as a Humvee). Later it could be mounted onother vehicles such as aircraft, helicopters, and ships, officials said.However, countermeasures against the weapon could be quite straightforward—for example covering up the body with thick clothes or carrying a metallic sheet—or even a trash can lid—as a shield or reflector. Also unclear is how the active denialtechnology would work in rainy, foggy, or sea-spray conditions where the beam’senergy could be absorbed by water in the atmosphere.The technology was developed by two Air Force Research Laboratory teams: onefrom the laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, andthe other from the Human Effectiveness Directorate at Brooks Air Force Base,Texas.The Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.,will manage acquisition of the Humvee Vmads system.'
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