US military unveils non-lethal heat ray weapon

[Johnny Rico]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-military-unveils-non-lethal-heat-ray-weapon-032512781.html

A sensation of unbearable, sudden heat seems to come out of nowhere -- this wave, a strong electromagnetic beam, is the latest non-lethal weapon unveiled by the US military this week. "You're not gonna see it, you're not gonna hear it, you're not gonna smell it: you're gonna feel it," explained US Marine Colonel Tracy Taffola, director the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, Marine Corps Base Quantico, at a demonstration for members of the media. The effect is so repellant, the immediate instinct is to flee -- and quickly, as experienced by AFP at the presentation.

Taffola is quick also to point out the "Active Denial System" beam, while powerful and long-range, some 1000 meters (0.6 miles), is the military's "safest non-lethal capability" that has been developed over 15 years but never used in the field. It was deployed briefly in Afghanistan in 2010, but never employed in an operation.

The technology has attracted safety concerns possibly because the beam is often confused with the microwaves commonly used by consumers to rapidly heat food. "There are a lot of misperceptions out there," lamented Taffola, saying the Pentagon was keen to make clear what the weapon is, and what it is not. The frequency of the blast makes all the difference for actual injury as opposed to extreme discomfort, stressed Stephanie Miller, who measured the system's radio frequency bioeffects at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

The system ray is 95 gigahertz, a frequency "absorbed very superficially," said Miller. The beam only goes 1/64th of an inch (0.4 millimeter), which "gives a lot more safety." "We have done over 11,000 exposures on people. In that time we've only had two injuries that required medical attention and in both cases injuries were fully recovered without complications," she said.

(more at link)

[Hugabear]

1. Just in time for this summer's conventions

How long before we see these used against protesters in this country?

[DirkGently]

4. That point is lost too often. "Non-lethal" gives excuse to use force more broadly.

We should have learned this by with the way TASERs and flash-bangs are utilized. "What are you complaining about -- we didn't kill you" seems to be the idea.

[Swede Atlanta]

2. The drumbeat towards totalitarianism....

Drones, noise weapons and now heat weapons. These are not only useful on the battlefield but also in suppressing public unrest. We will find ourselves in a position where there is no opportunity to challenge the status quo. They will have such weapons that no one can resist. This is a disturbing trend. These weapons are not weapons of war but rather weapons of suppression of public unrest.

[SomethingFishy]

3. There was a lot of money in the NDAA for "non-lethal" weapons research..

A lot of money.

[kenny blankenship]

5. The perfection of the Police State arsenal gallops onward

And now, members of the board and shareholders, we present for your delectation and approval weapons that destroy the mere possibility of a visible mass dissent or protest, without leaving any incriminating scars, or any traces on detainees' X-rays, and without any of the embarrassment of blood pooled in the streets. Pain rays, heat rays, and -why not in the future?- "get right in your mind rays". We're working on all of them. If the media can't film any bodies, there's simply no story to cover! Neat, clean, efficient and impersonal. No more relying on the willingness of sadists in uniform to carry out "crack down" orders. Deviant law enforcement personnel who enjoy violence regularly go too far and act out too freely, and with too much evident relish for bloodshed, thus putting the legitimacy of the State's suppressive measures into question. With our new "denial technologies" you can make subversives disappear without surrendering the moral high ground which is always presumed by majorities to belong to institutions of authority. If the USSR had had these, they'd still be 'in business' today!

[stevenleser]

8. It doesnt destroy the possibility of dissent. It destroys the possibility of public,peaceful dissent

If you think about what that means, its not a positive thing for those who would use it to quell dissent.

The ascent of the IRA in Northern Ireland was a direct consequence of the Bloody Sunday massacre of the peaceful civil rights protesters. if you cannot petition for redress peacefully...

[Poll_Blind]

6. Wonder what that looks like turned on mothers holding infants. We'll probably find out soon enough.

Because it all gets turned on demonstrators, eventually. I'll never forget seeing a mother and her infant being pepper-sprayed on the news in a peaceful demonstration in Portland.

PB

[StarsInHerHair]

7. g r e a t

just what we need....how about a plank of wood to shield it, like old wooden train cars that held fruit?