Phasers and Disruptors becoming a Reality?

[Cptn Corizon 0]

Military's Energy-Beam Weapons Delayed

 

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology WriterWed Jul 13,11:56 AM ET

 

For years, the U.S. military has explored a new kind of firepower that is instantaneous, precise and virtually inexhaustible: beams of electromagnetic energy. "Directed-energy" pulses can be throttled up or down depending on the situation, much like the phasers on "Star Trek" could be set to kill or merely stun.

 

Such weapons are now nearing fruition. But logistical issues have delayed their battlefield debut — even as soldiers in Iraq encounter tense urban situations in which the nonlethal capabilities of directed energy could be put to the test.

 

"It's a great technology with enormous potential, but I think the environment's not strong for it," said James Jay Carafano, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who blames the military and Congress for not spending enough on getting directed energy to the front. "The tragedy is that I think it's exactly the right time for this."

 

The hallmark of all directed-energy weapons is that the target — whether a human or a mechanical object — has no chance to avoid the shot because it moves at the speed of light. At some frequencies, it can penetrate walls.

 

Since the ammunition is merely light or radio waves, directed-energy weapons are limited only by the supply of electricity. And they don't involve chemicals or projectiles that can be inaccurate, accidentally cause injury or violate international treaties.

 

"When you're dealing with people whose full intent is to die, you can't give people a choice of whether to comply," said George Gibbs, a systems engineer for the Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad Program who oversees directed-energy projects. "What I'm looking for is a way to shoot everybody, and they're all OK."

 

Almost as diverse as the electromagnetic spectrum itself, directed-energy weapons span a wide range of incarnations.

 

Among the simplest forms are inexpensive, handheld lasers that fill people's field of vision, inducing a temporary blindness to ensure they stop at a checkpoint, for example. Some of these already are used in Iraq.

 

Other radio-frequency weapons in development can sabotage the electronics of land mines, shoulder-fired missiles or automobiles — a prospect that interests police departments in addition to the military.

 

A separate branch of directed-energy research involves bigger, badder beams: lasers that could obliterate targets tens of miles away from ships or planes. Such a strike would be so surgical that, as some designers put it at a recent conference here, the military could plausibly deny responsibility.

 

The flexibility of directed-energy weapons could be vital as wide-scale, force-on-force conflict becomes increasingly rare, many experts say. But the technology has been slowed by such practical concerns as how to shrink beam-firing antennas and power supplies.

 

Military officials also say more needs to be done to assure the international community that directed-energy weapons set to stun rather than kill will not harm noncombatants.

 

Such issues recently led the Pentagon to delay its Project Sheriff, a plan to outfit vehicles in Iraq with a combination of lethal and nonlethal weaponry — including a highly touted microwave-energy blaster that makes targets feel as if their skin is on fire. Sheriff has been pushed at least to 2006.

 

"It was best to step back and make sure we understand where we can go with it," said David Law, science and technology chief for the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.

 

The directed-energy component in the project is the Active Denial System, developed by Air Force researchers and built by Raytheon Co. It produces a millimeter-wavelength burst of energy that penetrates 1/64 of an inch into a person's skin, agitating water molecules to produce heat. The sensation is certain to get people to halt whatever they are doing.

 

Military investigators say decades of research have shown that the effect ends the moment a person is out of the beam, and no lasting damage is done as long as the stream does not exceed a certain duration. How long? That answer is classified, but it apparently is in the realm of seconds, not minutes. The range of the beam also is secret, though it is said to be further than small arms fire, so an attacker could be repelled before he could pull a trigger.

 

Although Active Denial works — after a $51 million, 11-year investment — it has proven to be a "model for how hard it is to field a directed-energy nonlethal weapon," Law said.

 

For example, the prototype system can be mounted on a Humvee but the vehicle has to stop in order to fire the beam. Using the vehicle's electrical power "is pushing its limits," he added.

 

Still, Raytheon is pressing ahead with smaller, portable, shorter-range spinoffs of Active Denial for embassies, ships or other sensitive spots.

 

One potential customer is the Department of Energy. Researchers at its Sandia National Laboratories are testing Active Denial as a way to repel intruders from nuclear facilities. But Sandia researchers say the beams won't be in place until 2008 at the earliest because so much testing remains.

 

In the meantime, Raytheon is trying to drum up business for an automated airport-defense project known as Vigilant Eagle that detects shoulder-fired missiles and fries their electronics with an electromagnetic wave. The system, which would cost $25 million per airport, has proven effective against a "real threat," said Michael Booen, a former Air Force colonel who heads Raytheon's directed-energy work. He refused to elaborate.

 

For Peter Bitar, the future of directed energy boils down to money.

 

Bitar heads Indiana-based Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems Ltd., which makes small blinding lasers used in Iraq. But his real project is a nonlethal energy device called the StunStrike.

 

Basically, it fires a bolt of lightning. It can be tuned to blow up explosives, possibly to stop vehicles and certainly to buzz people. The strike can be made to feel as gentle as "broom bristles" or cranked up to deliver a paralyzing jolt that "takes a few minutes to wear off."

 

Bitar, who is of Arab descent, believes StunStrike would be particularly intimidating in the Middle East because, he contends, people there are especially afraid of lightning.

 

At present, StunStrike is a 20-foot tower that can zap things up to 28 feet away. The next step is to shrink it so it could be wielded by troops and used in civilian locales like airplane cabins or building entrances.

 

Xtreme ADS also needs more tests to establish that StunStrike is safe to use on people.

 

But all that takes money — more than the $700,000 Bitar got from the Pentagon from 2003 until the contract recently ended.

 

Bitar is optimistic StunStrike will be perfected, either with revenue from the laser pointers or a partnership with a bigger defense contractor. In the meantime, though, he wishes soldiers in Iraq already had his lightning device on difficult missions like door-to-door searches.

 

"It's very frustrating when you know you've got a solution that's being ignored," he said. "The technology is the easy part."

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate: https://www.jnlwd.usmc.mil

 

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Interesting, eh? 30 years ago people laughed at Trekies with our phasers...::snickers:: We'll see who has the last laugh, eh :P

[eagle 0]

 

Interesting, eh? 30 years ago people laughed at Trekies with our phasers...::snickers:: We'll see who has the last laugh, eh :P

about the same amount of time ago(30yrs.),there was an electronic device developed

to possibly quell large crowds/mobs etc.,based on the principal of sound,to be more

specific ultra low freq.emissions,the resulting effect was to make the people get sick

and in turn disable them.

the name of the device was gabriels trumpet....combination of said technologies will

prove intresting,,,,,,,,,and i agree we will have the last laugh...

[WesleyMustDie 0]

This sounds interesting...I'd like a working phaser...let them laugh.

[WesleyMustDie 0]

Ooh...phasers on satellites. Trekkies of the world unite!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!

[koolaidman 0]

i dont know if we're ready for phasors. there is too much power, a person can take a hit form an assault weapon and live but it they are shot with a phasor on a high setting thy're wiped off the face of theplanet ( ok so they prolly wont be that powerful just yet)

[Merina 0]

Reality t.v.: "When Trekkies Rule the World"

 

Dude!!!

[eagle 0]

so many bad guys,,,,so little time,,,heh,heh,yyeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaa!!!!!

and yes i may have finally lost it,perhaps.... :P

[Darrik 0]

Ooh...phasers on satellites. Trekkies of the world unite!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!

actually, I would think that Trekkies would have to unite to protect themselves from the Warsies and the third Death Star. But, by that time, some Whovian would probably have already created a working TARDIS, the chefs on the Death Star would have let the Hitchhikers on, and I'd finally get the stargate set up on my lawn to work, so the Trekkies would have some back-up. Still, this would be the first war fought completely with plastic props.

Edited July 14, 2005 by Darrik

[WesleyMustDie 0]

actually, I would think that Trekkies would have to unite to protect themselves from the Warsies and the third Death Star. But, by that time, some Whovian would probably have already created a working TARDIS, the chefs on the Death Star would have let the Hitchhikers on, and I'd finally get the stargate set up on my lawn to work, so the Trekkies would have some back-up. Still, this would be the first war fought completely with plastic props.

Yay for plastic props! But I don't know about fighting the Warsies...I like Star Wars too!

[eagle 0]

lets not forget the new generation of emrg(electro mag rail guns) just more toys to enjoy .......heh,heh,heh,.....mmmuuuhahahahaha........ ^_^ :)

[Montague 0]

Personally, I like my type three, I wont get in trouble for using on the unsuspecting public... ^_^

[Murdok Helios 0]

For all we know there all ready made but the gov. doesn't want us to know about it.

 

:: Goes to conspiracy sites.:: ^_^

[Sam_SemaJ 0]

Yes i agree its too much power....

 

Yes I think the comment about the plastic props war was funny...

 

No, I would NOT be surpised if the technology in Star Trek became a reality, thats one of my favourite aspects of Trek

 

(what if they asked trekkies or star trek crew/staff for consulting about weapon design, that would be hilarious)

[Travis Kroells 0]

::Waits for a lightsaber::

[Ensign_Rompen 0]

you can already make a lightsaber...it wont cut anything, but it exists...

[Seiben 0]

Or you can buy one.. ^_^

[WesleyMustDie 0]

<----would rather have a lightsaber AND a phaser

[Sam_SemaJ 0]

i saw SW III with my brother in law, he wanted to laugh out loud at the Vader/Frankenstien scene, but was afraid of getting hit with a plastic lightsaber by someone in the theatre. That statement alone cracked us up... ^_^

[eagle 0]

<----would rather have a lightsaber AND a phaser

and a disruptor,plasma energy weapon,phaser grenades,quantum torps., did i leave out anything ?? ^_^ :D B) :o :P :D

[WesleyMustDie 0]

Where are my photon torpedoes and my tachyon bursts and my bat'leth and my mek'leth and my Dk'tagh and...

[Ensign_Rompen 0]

the hill with you people...I want a DEATH STAR!

[OHNO 0]

For all we know there all ready made but the gov. doesn't want us to know about it.

 

:: Goes to conspiracy sites.:: :D

yes, just like all the stealth aircraft that we have now. It was there and we didn't even know it. May be, you never know. B) ^_^

[WesleyMustDie 0]

the hill with you people...I want a DEATH STAR!

Borg cube: THE DEATH STAR IS IRRELEVANT. IT WILL BE ASSIMILATED. ^_^ :D B) :D

[eagle 0]

Borg cube: THE DEATH STAR IS IRRELEVANT. IT WILL BE ASSIMILATED. :lol: :lol: :P B)

good one.........good one...got,im......... :P :D :D :)

[Ensign_Rompen 0]

Borg cube: THE DEATH STAR IS IRRELEVANT. IT WILL BE ASSIMILATED. :lol: :lol: :P :P

::Imperial music in the background, Lord Vader standing in the control room motioning to Grand Moff Tarkin:: You may fire when ready, assimilate this rebel scum! ::borg cube exploding into little bitty pieces::