THE DOCUMENTS
DOW-UAP-D121, “AAWSAP DIRD Pulsed High Power Microwave Source Technology January 28 2010”; DOW-UAP-D147, “AAWSAP DIRD Ultracapacitors as Energy and Power Storage Devices November 1 2010”; and DOW-UAP-D149, “AAWSAP DIRD MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications November 21 2010”: three Department of War records from the U.S. Department of War’s PURSUE Release 06, published at war.gov/ufo on 18 September 2026. The titles are the release’s, from the file names. The covers’ own titles are Pulsed High-Power Microwave Source Technology, Ultracapacitors as Energy and Power Storage Devices for Commercial and Military Applications, which the release title shortens, and MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications. Each cover is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document with the Defense Intelligence Agency seal, and prints a series line, date, ICOD and control number: DOW-UAP-D121, Acquisition Threat Support, 28 January 2010, ICOD: 1 December 2009, DIA-08-0912-005, 37 pages; DOW-UAP-D147, Defense Futures, 01 November 2010, ICOD: 20 July 2010, DIA-08-1011-005, 34 pages; DOW-UAP-D149, Defense Futures, 21 November 2010, ICOD: 20 July 2010, DIA-08-1011-006, 32 pages. Page 2 of DOW-UAP-D121 gives the preparing office as Acquisition Support Division (DWO-3), a FY 2009 series under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program and ATTN: CLAR/DWO-3; page 2 of the other two gives Technology Warning Division (DWO-4), FY 2010, the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Applications (AAWSA) Program and ATTN: JUIAF - DI/DWO-3, under a boxed sentence defining the series. Banners read UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY with the last four words struck through, except both banners of DOW-UAP-D149 p. 3 and the top one of its p. 25. The only redactions are p. 2 labels, none a black bar or carrying an exemption code: for the authors, AAP Person 64, AAP Person 84 and 85, and AAP Person 86 and 87 in turn, in large unboxed type; and AAP Person 1, in a thin-ruled box before AAWSA Program Manager.
Why this one is worth your time
These three papers are about power for weapons and platforms: the sources that drive high-power microwave weapons, a storage device the second paper says will eventually feed directed-energy weapons, and generators and plasma devices for hypersonic vehicles. Each states its military uses in its own words, and the third names three countries it says are likely to implement its applications. None of the three uses UAP, UFO or unidentified.
What the documents say
D121, pulsed microwave sources. The Summary calls the paper an overview of the major types of high-power microwave (HPM) sources and the technologies needed to build them, and traces the interest to high-altitude electromagnetic pulse and the 1962 nuclear test it names as “Starfish Prime” (p. 6). It says HPM weapons, unlike HEMP weapons, are smaller in scale, involve a much lower level of technology and “are within the capability of almost any state”, that technical accessibility, lower cost and the vulnerability of U.S. electronic equipment could make them attractive to terrorist groups, and that HPM devices are now categorised as directed-energy weapons (p. 6). It names electronic attack, which it says the media call an “ebomb”, and as an example of possible effects gives a report that on 28 May 2001 a U.S. helicopter testing HPM weapons in New York state generated a pulse that disrupted the GPS devices used to land commercial aircraft in Albany (p. 7).
The rest of the Summary, pp. 7 to 8, holds operational material: a list of kill mechanisms against electronics and how a source is matched to a target (p. 7), the thresholds and pulse-duration regimes for damaging semiconductors and the part repetition rate plays (pp. 7 to 8), techniques for mitigating vulnerabilities, with the remark that assets tested include those of friend and foe (p. 8), filtering against fratricide (p. 8), and why such sources are hard to detect (p. 8). This briefing describes that material and does not reproduce it. Among its general statements, the page says the difficulty of preventing harm to friendly assets is a major reason why HPM “has rarely been employed in actual battlefield settings” (p. 8).
The body is a survey in five parts: insulation, cathode materials and high-voltage switching, which it calls the critical technologies (pp. 9 to 23); pulsed power sources, from Marx generators to explosively driven flux compression generators (pp. 23 to 25); narrowband electron beam sources and wideband impulse sources, device by device, with the laboratories that built them and their power, voltage, frequency, rise time and repetition rate figures (pp. 25 to 33); antennas (pp. 33 to 36); and a one-paragraph Conclusion (p. 37). The paper says the only directed-energy weapon system known to be fielded is based on a gyrotron, the Active Denial System, which it calls effective as a less-than-lethal weapon for crowd dispersal; its figures and its account of the effect on a person (p. 28) are not reproduced. It names a company in Germany and one in the United Kingdom as selling mesoband sources (p. 33), and the last paragraph of the antenna section includes a passage about a pre-pulse and protective devices (p. 36), described here only by its subject.
The paper also names its gaps. It calls the usual explanation of how fast high-voltage switches conduct “most likely incorrect” (p. 19), says little or no progress has been made in new ferrite materials because programmes are under time or budget constraints (p. 24), and ends by listing advanced cathode materials, predictive computer codes, high-speed switching at high power and low-loss insulation as areas where advancement is needed (p. 37).
D147, ultracapacitors. The Summary says ultracapacitors charge and discharge extremely rapidly and can be cycled hundreds of thousands of times, but have less than 10 per cent of the specific energy of lithium ion batteries and need a power converter (p. 5). It says the earliest uses were in motor startup for tanks and submarines (p. 19). Under Aerospace it lists failsafe power for the electronics of military vehicles, fire-control systems, GPS-guided missiles and projectiles, high-power discharge for naval systems, and power for directed-energy weapons (p. 20).
Two sub-sections follow that the contents page (p. 3) does not list. Signatures and Vulnerabilities says ultracapacitors could be important in developing ultrawideband energy weapons, that their discharge would emit a distinctive broadband RF signature a modest wideband receiver may be able to detect, and that the signature of such a device “warrants further study” (p. 20). Stimulated Discharge, the only text on its page, says vulnerabilities likely exist and names four areas of research (p. 21). Neither passage gives figures.
The later chapters survey new carbon electrodes and a magnetic capacitor that one company has been developing since 2007 (p. 26); the paper writes of that company’s independent test results, “These unbiased tests demonstrate the validity” of its claims, and prints the company’s own estimate of specific energy and cost (pp. 27 to 29). Chapter 5 forecasts in bands, 2010 to 2020, 2020 to 2030 and beyond 2030, when, it says, laptop computers will become the size of an iPhone (pp. 30 to 31); its timeline figure is headed 2010, 2020, 2030 and 2050, read from the page image (p. 31). The Conclusions say military systems will see increasing uses for ultracapacitors and that their spectral signatures must be understood (p. 32).
D149, MHD propulsion and power. The Summary says plasma and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) concepts could reach far beyond conventional performance but face weight, complexity, power and the cost of ionising cold air below Mach 12 (p. 4). It says an MHD generator behind a scramjet combustor could supply high power onboard with no moving parts (p. 5), but that cold-air devices ionised by electron beams are quite impractical unless ultralightweight magnets become available (p. 18). It traces the Ajax concept to the 1980s at Leninetz Scientific & Production Enterprise in Leningrad, USSR (p. 19), says research in the United States, Europe and Russia has shown that the shock-weakening effects some Russian groups attributed to an unknown mechanism are purely thermal (p. 21), agrees with a critic, D. Riggins, that the Ajax cycle runs the wrong way thermodynamically while saying his derivation contains a significant mistake (p. 21), and reckons the Ajax group’s own gain of several per cent would turn into a loss in a realistic analysis (p. 22). The alternative it favours, a reverse energy bypass with a virtual cowl, it reports as the work of one of its own authors with colleagues (p. 22), and it says analysis shows the combined system can raise thrust by as much as 20 to 30 per cent (p. 24).
The military applications are named in the paper’s words: “global-strike hypersonic gliders”, aeroassisted orbital manoeuvring, and plasma-assisted lift-to-drag gains that it says “would be a game-changer” (pp. 4, 26), with more downrange for an unpowered glider and more cross-range for a de-orbiting space asset (p. 25). For spacecraft it forecasts electric propulsion becoming the standard and says a nuclear vehicle in orbit enables beaming power to air or ground vehicles or the use of “laser and microwave weapons” (pp. 28 to 29). Chapter 4 calls reentry and hypersonic glider applications “both feasible and desirable for national defense” and says they are also likely to attract other nations, including (but not limited to) Russia, China and Japan, which it says have the capability to develop them within several years (p. 29).
What the documents do not say
None of the three uses UAP, UFO, unidentified, extraterrestrial or alien, and none mentions a sighting (case-insensitive, substring, in the issued text layer, the only layer of each). Anomalous appears only in D147, twice, both in the title of one cited paper on carbon capacitance, printed as endnotes 20 and 34 (p. 33). The unknown physical mechanism D149 mentions, a claim it attributes to some Russian groups, it says research has shown to be purely thermal in effect (p. 21).
None prints AAWSAP or DIRD; each prints AAWSA twice, on p. 2. No page mentions a contract, none gives a tasking number, an approval or a signature block, and none cites another Defense Intelligence Agency paper. D121 has no reference list or endnote; it credits a textbook extract on the ideal cathode to J. R. Pierce, 1946 (p. 16), and its Table 3 to cathode studies at two laboratories it names (p. 19). The 1962 test, the 2001 helicopter report and the source figures of pp. 25 to 33 carry no citation. Threat appears once in the three, in D121’s cover series line.
In D121 and D149, 2020, 2030 and 2050 return no hits. D147’s only 2050 is the heading of its timeline figure (p. 31). D149’s prediction about Russia, China and Japan carries no endnote marker in either place it appears (pp. 4, 29).
The front matter replaces each author’s name with a label (p. 2 of each). D149’s own text refers to its authors’ own work (pp. 18, 19, 22); this briefing does not print a name, an institution or a publication tied to them.
From the record
This paper provides an overview of the major types of high-power microwave
DOW-UAP-D121, p. 6, the first line of the Summary; the sentence continues: (HPM) sources and the critical technologies required to build them.
to be fielded today is based on them.
DOW-UAP-D121, p. 28, the passage on gyrotrons that leads into the Active Denial System; the sentence begins: Gyrotrons are important in narrowband HPM production because the only directed-energy weapon system known
munitions fusing and missile power load leveling. Ultimately, application will
DOW-UAP-D147, p. 5, the Summary; the line closes the sentence on aerospace use, which opens Due to their durability, and opens the next, which names pulsed power storage and delivery for electric propulsion and directed-energy weapons as the eventual application
sensitive or destructive applications, vulnerabilities likely exist and warrant study in
DOW-UAP-D147, p. 21, the Stimulated Discharge sub-section, which the contents page does not list; the sentence begins: Depending on the application and the implementation and construction of ultracaps in
advanced ultracaps must be performed, understood, and adopted by the U.S.
DOW-UAP-D147, p. 32, the last sentence of the Conclusions, which opens Development of these; the sentence continues: government and those who are developing the systems to be used by the government.
A well-publicized Ajax concept of MHD energy bypass has been shown to
DOW-UAP-D149, p. 4, the second paragraph of the Summary; the sentence continues: be meaningless below at least Mach 12.
MHD energy bypass at Mach<12 (where nonequilibrium ionization of air is
DOW-UAP-D149, p. 22, the paper’s conclusion on Ajax, in the sentence that opens Therefore, one can state with certainty that; the sentence continues: required) is not a meaningful technology.
such novel technologies within several years and deploying those technologies
DOW-UAP-D149, p. 29, Chapter 4, Summary and Predictions, in the sentence that opens These nations have the capability to develop; the sentence continues: perhaps within 10 years.
Where the case connects
The release files these papers under the same AAWSAP prefix as the contract records DOW-UAP-D110 to D116, which Release 06 Briefing 10 covers; no page of the three names a contract. D110, the statement of objectives, lists propulsion and power generation among its twelve technical study areas (D110 p. 1). That these papers answer those areas is an inference from their subjects, not something any of the four records states.
The three touch each other without citing each other. D147 says ultracapacitors could matter for ultrawideband energy weapons, a class of source D121 surveys, and expands BASS as bulk acoustic semiconductor switch (p. 20), where D121 writes bulk avalanche semiconductor switches (p. 32). D147 and D149 share a series line, a preparing division, an ICOD and consecutive control numbers, and their covers are twenty days apart.
D121, dated 28 January 2010, carries DIA-08-0912-005. DOW-UAP-D119, dated 7 January 2010, carries DIA-08-0912-006, and DOW-UAP-D120, dated 12 January 2010, carries DIA-08-0912-008 (each on its cover). The numbers in that group do not follow the cover dates; no page says how they were assigned. Release 06 Briefing 11 covers D119 and D120. Release 06 Briefing 22 covers DOW-UAP-D128, the human tissue paper, whose front matter carries the same two kinds of label, and Release 06 Briefing 24 covers the release as a whole.
Read it yourself
DOW-UAP-D121, “AAWSAP DIRD Pulsed High Power Microwave Source Technology January 28 2010”, DOW-UAP-D147, “AAWSAP DIRD Ultracapacitors as Energy and Power Storage Devices November 1 2010”, and DOW-UAP-D149, “AAWSAP DIRD MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications November 21 2010”, are hosted at war.gov in PURSUE Release 06. The Summary of DOW-UAP-D121 is pages 6 to 8 of the PDF; the two unlisted sub-sections of DOW-UAP-D147 are pages 20 to 21 and its forecasts pages 30 to 31; the Summary of DOW-UAP-D149 is page 4 and its predictions page 29.
Read the files. Decide for yourself.
Related wiki entries
The wiki entries below give background on the programme and publisher behind this briefing, and on the subjects it touches.
References and further reading
- DOW-UAP-D121, “AAWSAP DIRD Pulsed High Power Microwave Source Technology January 28 2010”, PURSUE Release 06, U.S. Department of War, hosted at war.gov/ufo
- DOW-UAP-D147, “AAWSAP DIRD Ultracapacitors as Energy and Power Storage Devices November 1 2010”, PURSUE Release 06, U.S. Department of War, hosted at war.gov/ufo
- DOW-UAP-D149, “AAWSAP DIRD MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications November 21 2010”, PURSUE Release 06, U.S. Department of War, hosted at war.gov/ufo
- Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), U.S. Department of War, war.gov/ufo
- AARO UAP Records, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, aaro.mil/UAP-Records
- Signals from the Periphery, Release 06 Briefing 10, on the contract file, DOW-UAP-D110 to D116
- Signals from the Periphery, Release 06 Briefing 11, on DOW-UAP-D119, DOW-UAP-D120 and the other materials papers
- Signals from the Periphery, Release 06 Briefing 22, on DOW-UAP-D128, the human tissue paper
- Signals from the Periphery, Release 06 Briefing 24, on the release as a whole