thedrifter
04-27-06, 05:43 PM
If approved, energy weapon could be on its way to Iraq
Scott McCabe, The Examiner
Apr 27, 2006 7:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering shipping to Iraq a weapon that shoots an invisible column of energy to cause intolerable pain without killing its target.
Known as the Active Denial System, the weapon was tested a third and final time in Florida last week and could be deployed if gets Pentagon approval, according to Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka. The weapon has been touted as a crowd-control device because it would allow U.S. forces to stop, deter and turn back an advancing adversary without applying deadly force.
Critics say the weapon would cause more harm than good and that there are safer, more effective ways to control crowds. People who cannot escape from the beam could face serious injury. It also superheats metal and other objects like coins, earrings or glass, which can then burn skin. As a result, the weapon could agitate crowds, forcing U.S. troops to fire traditional weapons, critics say.
“It would just outrage the public,” said Edward Hammonds, of the Sunshine Project, which opposes biological weapons.
The weapon is mounted on a Humvee and controlled by a joystick with a trigger. A 3- or 4-foot-wide beam is fired from an antenna and travels at the speed of light.
The beam heats the top 1/64th of an inch of skin to about 130 degrees in two seconds. Humans feel pain at 113 degrees. The test record for staying in front of the beam without fleeing is three seconds, said Rich Gracie, spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory which developed the weapon.
Two years ago, Gracie himself was tested with the weapon, which was fired from several hundred yards. He said it’s extremely painful, but safe. At first the sensation felt like someone opened an oven on his back, he said, and then a fiery pain shot from his back, up through his body and back down. He lasted two seconds before jumping for cover.
“It’s pretty horrific,” Gracie said. “It felt like your body was on fire.”
smccabe@dcexaminer.com
Ellie
Scott McCabe, The Examiner
Apr 27, 2006 7:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering shipping to Iraq a weapon that shoots an invisible column of energy to cause intolerable pain without killing its target.
Known as the Active Denial System, the weapon was tested a third and final time in Florida last week and could be deployed if gets Pentagon approval, according to Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maka. The weapon has been touted as a crowd-control device because it would allow U.S. forces to stop, deter and turn back an advancing adversary without applying deadly force.
Critics say the weapon would cause more harm than good and that there are safer, more effective ways to control crowds. People who cannot escape from the beam could face serious injury. It also superheats metal and other objects like coins, earrings or glass, which can then burn skin. As a result, the weapon could agitate crowds, forcing U.S. troops to fire traditional weapons, critics say.
“It would just outrage the public,” said Edward Hammonds, of the Sunshine Project, which opposes biological weapons.
The weapon is mounted on a Humvee and controlled by a joystick with a trigger. A 3- or 4-foot-wide beam is fired from an antenna and travels at the speed of light.
The beam heats the top 1/64th of an inch of skin to about 130 degrees in two seconds. Humans feel pain at 113 degrees. The test record for staying in front of the beam without fleeing is three seconds, said Rich Gracie, spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory which developed the weapon.
Two years ago, Gracie himself was tested with the weapon, which was fired from several hundred yards. He said it’s extremely painful, but safe. At first the sensation felt like someone opened an oven on his back, he said, and then a fiery pain shot from his back, up through his body and back down. He lasted two seconds before jumping for cover.
“It’s pretty horrific,” Gracie said. “It felt like your body was on fire.”
smccabe@dcexaminer.com
Ellie