Directed-energy weapons driven by pulsed high-power microwave sources, surveyed in PURSUE Release 06 record DOW-UAP-D121, Pulsed High-Power Microwave Source Technology, a Defense Intelligence Reference Document of 28 January 2010 (DIRDs).
The paper traces the interest to high-altitude electromagnetic pulse and the 1962 Starfish Prime test, and says such weapons involve a much lower level of technology than nuclear pulse and are within the capability of almost any state. As an example of possible effects it gives a report that in 2001 a helicopter testing such weapons in New York state disrupted the GPS aids used to land aircraft at Albany. It surveys insulation, cathodes, switching, pulsed power, narrowband and wideband sources and antennas; calls the Active Denial System, a crowd-dispersal device, the only directed-energy weapon known to be fielded; and says the difficulty of protecting friendly assets is a major reason such weapons have rarely been used in battle. It ends by listing the areas where advancement is needed.
Two other papers in the release touch the class: one on ultracapacitors says their discharge would carry a distinctive signature that warrants study, and one on high-energy lasers says the Active Denial device was held back by policy, not legal, concerns. Anomalous Field Effects on Human Tissue draws on an Army report on the bioeffects of nonlethal weapons.
Connections
DIRDs · PURSUE · Anomalous Field Effects on Human Tissue · Defense Warning Office