NationStates Jolt Archive

There's more than one way to "nuke" an enemy....;)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6182817/

probably won't work, like most mass ray weapons

probably won't work, like most mass ray weapons

This one is different....it is not a "ray" weapon. It uses microwaves.

This one is different....it is not a "ray" weapon. It uses microwaves.
microwaves are not rays?

microwaves are not rays?

They can be condensed into a "ray" but I don't think thats the intent with this system.

Experimental humvees already mount this equipment. The technology has been around for decades. Some criminals in Germany have used it in a deadly fashion to inflict serious health problems (but the military claims their systems wont cause this. This technology will work and has worked. Its only recently become viable for military scale employment though. Far more interesting than the HPM is the THEL though, which is a joint USA/Isreal prospect and might represent the future in point defense and anti-aircraft (it can blind pilots and alter glass cockits, so it doesnt need to heat the plane enough to destroy it, which is a more cumbersome task than point defense.)

EDIT: The humvee system is directional, thats the only real way to use it for crowd control since you need to have the victim's skin heat up so fast their reflexes will kick in and move them out of the way, otherwise it might damage the victim. Counter-electronic systems can be either directional or radiated, but radiated single-use HPM bombs are not a new idea. They might have been employed in secret since the 1980s.

this weapon was developed in the early 1950's in a joint effort....american and england... the soviets are claimed to have a useable microwave cannon....