How It Works - UK (2020-02)

038 How It Works http://www.howitworksdaily.com

TECHNOLOGY

INFLICTING PAIN

WITHOUT INJURY

If you want to stop an enemy as quickly as
possible, killing them is one option – but
not the only one. You can cause them to
feel so much pain they immediately back
off. That’s the thinking behind the
Ray theon company’s Active Denial
System, which makes anyone on the
receiv ing end feel like they’re being
burned alive. They’re not really being
injured at all, but even if their conscious
mind knows that, the pain is so greatthey
pull back involuntarily.

A USNavycrewmanusinga laserdazzler

againsta simulatedattacker

1

Nukesare

yesterday’sweapons

Nuclearexplosionscreatepowerful

electromagneticpulses,instantly

burningouteveryelectroniccircuit

withinseveralthousandkilometres.

Thismeansthey’reincompatible

withthehighlydigitisedworldof

modernwarfare.

2

Spacewarfareis slow

Satellitestravelveryquickly,

butonlyinpredefinedorbits.

Graduallychangingtheorbittofly

rightoverthedesiredtargetmay

takeseveraldays.

3

Secrecy– goodorbad?

Newweaponsaretraditionally

‘topsecret’soothercountriesdon’t

copythem,butknowingabouta

weaponcandeterenemiesfrom

attacking – so too much secrecy is

a bad thing.

4

Weapons versus weapons

The 1960s saw the emergence

of anti-missile missiles – weapons

aimed at defeating other weapons.

The idea caught on, and modern

weapons are often designed to

counter a specific enemy weapon.

5

Not killing = not legal?

According to the internationally

accepted rules of war, shooting to

kill on the battlefield is legal – but

non-lethal weapons that “cause

superfluous injury or unnecessary

suffering” are not.

QUIRKS OF WEAPON

DEVELOPMENT

©US

Navy

SoldiersoftheItalian

Armytestingan

anti-dronejammer

ona rooftopinRome

©ItalianArmy

“Other options produce extremely unpleasant

symptoms without any physical injury”

ck

Sellers

Humantarget

Becauseoftheirshort

wavelength,themicrowaves

penetratelessthana

millimetreintotheskin– so

thevictimisn’t‘cooked’.

Burningsensation

Heatingskinto54°Ccauses

intensepain– enoughto

stopvictimsin theirtracks

• butnophysicalinjury.

Energybeam

It maysoundsci-fi,

butthisis anordinary

radiowave,witha

frequencyof95GHz

anda wavelength

of3.2mm.

Microwave

transmitter

Thisproduceshigh-

frequencyradiowaves,

similartothoseusedin

microwaveovensor

mobilephones,butwitha

muchshorterwavelength.

Dishantenna

Thisfocusesthehigh-power

microwavebeamanddirects

it atthetarget– typicallyan

enemycombatant.

Modified

Humvee

TheActiveDenial

System,asusedbythe

USmilitarysince2007,

is mountedona specially

adaptedHumveetruck.