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US to Use Microwave Weapons On America Citizens


By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
Tuesday 12 September 2006

Air Force official says nonlethal weapons should be used on people in crowd-control situations.
Washington - Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American
citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said
Tuesday.

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the


international community over any possible safety concerns, said
Secretary Michael Wynne.

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then
we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said
Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon
and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended,
I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

The Air Force has funded research into nonlethal weapons, but he
said the service isn't likely to spend more money on development
until injury issues are reviewed by medical experts and resolved.

Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if they are hit


with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also can be effective in
disabling some electronic devices.

On another subject, Wynne said he expects to pick a new contractor for the next generation aerial
refueling tanking by next summer. He said a draft request for bids will be put out next month, and there
are two qualified bidders: The Boeing Co. and a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the majority owner of European jet maker Airbus SAS.

The contract is expected to be worth at least $20 billion.

Chicago-based Boeing lost the tanker deal in 2004 amid revelations that it had hired a top Air Force
acquisitions official who had given the company preferential treatment.

Wynne also said the Air Force, which is already chopping 40,000 active duty, civilian and reserves
jobs, is now struggling to find new ways to slash about $1.8 billion from its budget to cover costs from
the latest round of base closings.

He said he can't cut more people, and it would not be wise to take funding from military programs that
are needed to protect the country. But, he said he also encounters resistance when he tries to save
money on operations and maintenance by retiring aging aircraft.
"We're finding out that those are, unfortunately, prized possessions of some congressional districts,"
said Wynne, adding that the Air Force will have to "take some appetite suppressant pills," he said. He
said he has asked employees to look for efficiencies in their offices.

The base closings initially were expected to create savings by reducing Air Force infrastructure by 24
percent.

Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon


More information on the "microwave weapon."

By David Hambling
02:00 AM Dec, 05, 2006

The crowd is getting ugly. Soldiers roll up in a Hummer. Suddenly, the whole right half of your body is
screaming in agony. You feel like you've been dipped in molten lava. You almost faint from shock and
pain, but instead you stumble backwards -- and then start running. To your surprise, everyone else is
running too. In a few seconds, the street is completely empty.

You've just been hit with a new nonlethal weapon that has been certified for use in Iraq -- even though
critics argue there may be unforeseen effects.

According to documents obtained for Wired News under federal sunshine laws, the Air Force's Active
Denial System, or ADS, has been certified safe after lengthy tests by military scientists in the lab and in
war games.

The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter
than microwaves -- 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a
standard microwave oven.

The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce
no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.

Documents acquired for Wired News using the Freedom of Information Act claim that most of the
radiation (83 percent) is instantly absorbed by the top layer of the skin, heating it rapidly.

The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated
escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and
none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds.

"It will repel you," one test subject said. "If hit by the beam, you will move out of it -- reflexively and
quickly. You for sure will not be eager to experience it again."

But while subjects may feel like they have sustained serious burns, the documents claim effects are not
long-lasting. At most, "some volunteers who tolerate the heat may experience prolonged redness or
even small blisters," the Air Force experiments concluded.

The reports describe an elaborate series of investigations involving human subjects.


The volunteers were military personnel: active, reserve or retired, who volunteered for the tests. They
were unpaid, but the subjects would "benefit from direct knowledge that an effective nonlethal weapon
system could soon be in the inventory," said one report. The tests ranged from simple exposure in the
laboratory to elaborate war games involving hundreds of participants.

The military simulated crowd control situations, rescuing helicopter crews in a Black Hawk Down
setting and urban assaults. More unusual tests involved alcohol, attack dogs and maze-like obstacle
courses.

In more than 10,000 exposures, there were six cases of blistering and one instance of second-degree
burns in a laboratory accident, the documents claim.

The ADS was developed in complete secrecy for 10 years at a cost of $40 million. Its existence was
revealed in 2001 by news reports, but most details of ADS human testing remain classified. There has
been no independent checking of the military's claims.

The ADS technology is ready to deploy, and the Army requested ADS-armed Strykers for Iraq last
year. But the military is well aware that any adverse publicity could finish the program, and it does not
want to risk distressed victims wailing about evil new weapons on CNN.

This may mean yet more rounds of testing for the ADS.

New bombs can be rushed into service in a matter of weeks, but the process is more complex for
nonlethal weapons. It may be years before the debates are resolved and the first directed-energy
nonlethal weapon is used in action.

The development of a truly safe and highly effective nonlethal crowd-control system could raise
enormous ethical questions about the state's use of coercive force. If a method such as ADS leads to no
lasting injury or harm, authorities may find easier justifications for employing them.

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Georgia (AP) -- The military's new weapon is a ray gun that shoots a
beam that makes people feel as if they will catch fire. 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
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 U.S.
troops might encounter.

The crew fired beams from more than 500 yards (455 meters) away, nearly 17 times the range of
existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.

While the sudden, 130-degree Fahrenheit (54.44 Celsius) heat was not painful, it was intense enough to
make 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 that helped develop the weapon. "Non-lethal weapons are important for the
escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in."

The system uses millimeter waves, which can penetrate only 1/64th of an inch of skin, just enough to
cause discomfort. By comparison, common kitchen microwaves penetrate several inches of skin.

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.

Two airmen and 10 reporters volunteered to be zapped with the beams, which easily penetrated various
layers of winter clothing.

The system was developed by the military, but the two devices being evaluated were built by defense
contractor Raytheon.

Airman Blaine Pernell, 22, 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 often pulled up and faked car problems
so they could scout U.S. forces.

"All we could do is watch them," he said. But if they had the ray gun, troops "could have dispersed
them."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press

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