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The Pentagon has been developing a device for non-lethal crowd control. Dubbed the Active Denial System, the weapon projects a microwave beam at rioters that will cause heat and intolerable pain in under five seconds.
Sounds kinder than a machine gun - but not everyone agrees:The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal, counter-personnel directed energy weapon. It uses breakthrough technologies to provide un-precedented, standoff, non-lethal capabilities at ranges beyond effective small arms range.ADS projects a focused, speed-of-light milli-meter-wave energy beam to induce an intolerable heating sensation on an adversaryí³ skin and cause that individual to be repelled without injury. ...ADS will enable U.S. forces to stop, deter and turn back an advancing adversary without applying lethal force. This capability is expected to save countless lives by providing a means to stop individuals without causing injury, before a deadly confrontation develops.
The technology was originally developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and matured under the sponsorship of the Department of Defenseí³ Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate. Approximately $51 million has been invested over the past eleven years. The technology was developed in response to Department of Defense needs for troops to have options short of deadly force. Non-lethal technologies can be used for protection of defense resources, peacekeeping, humanitarian missions and other situations in which the use of lethal force is undesirable. ADS will provide these capabilities close in as well as at longer standoff ranges.
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Non-lethal technologies can be used for protection of defense resources, peacekeeping, humanitarian missions and other situations in which the use of lethal force is undesirable.
Active Denial Technology uses a transmitter producing energy at a frequency of 95Ghz and an antenna to direct a focused, invisible beam towards a designated subject. Traveling at the speed of light, the energy reaches the subject and penetrates the skin to a depth of less than 1/64 of an inch. Almost instantaneously it produces a heating sensation that within seconds becomes intolerable and forces the subject to flee. The sensation immediately ceases when the individual moves out of the beam or when the system operator turns it off.
Despite this sensation, the beam does not cause injury because of the shallow penetration depth of energy at this wavelength and the low energy levels used. It exploits the bodyí³ natural defense mechanism that induces pain as a warning to help protect it from injury.
But New Scientist magazine reported Wednesday that during tests carried out at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, participants playing the parts of rioters were told to first remove their glasses and contact lenses to protect their eyes.In another test, they were also told to remove metal objects such as coins in clothing to avoid local hot spots developing on their skin.
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Questions were raised in the New Scientist article.
"What happens if someone in a crowd is unable for whatever reason to move away from the beam?" asked Neil Davison, coordinator of a nonlethal-weapons research project at Britain's Bradford University. "How do you ensure that the dose doesn't cross the threshold for permanent damage? Does the weapon cut out to prevent overexposure?"
Note the LA Times headline: Scientists Concerned by Gun on Tap for Iraq.
