Since 1999 those weapons have been upgraded for another 13 years. Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems. In this case, the laser weapon system would sense the atmospheric conditions to the target, then using fast steering mirrors, it would deform the main laser beam as it leaves the weapon to use the atmosphere to the target much like the lens of a pair of glasses to refocus the beam on the target. The Air Force also recently demonstrated the ability of an HPM weapon to bring down multiple drones in testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to a recent Military.com article: After decades of research and investment, we believe these advanced directed-energy applications will soon be ready for the battlefield to help protect people, assets and infrastructure. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president, said in a news release accompanying the announcement. At 200 yards away, body temperature increases from the normal 98.6 F to 107 F. At closer range, the temperature increase can be even higher, and is lethal. [48], Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.[50]. First up is the Multi-Mission High Energy Laser, a 50-killowatt retrofit to a modified Stryker vehicle, which is expected to be operational in 2023. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. For example, a Navy ship-to-air laser will have different requirements than an Air Force air-to-air system, which will have different requirements than a space-based missile defense system and therefore different technological considerations. The Ukrainian army are reported to use the Ukrainian KVS G-6, with a 3.5km range and able to operate continuously for 30 minutes. Because of the strategic imperative to protect U.S. carrier battlegroups to enable us to project power, the U.S. Navy is following this prototyping effort with a much broader Navy Laser Family of Systems or NLFoS program, which will put the Navy on a path to develop and deploy lasers ranging from low power laser dazzlers to much higher power lasers capable of destroying anti-ship and high-speed cruise missiles. These high-speed missiles fly at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and greater. At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. Artilleri-Tidskrift (22009): s. s 1215. They built an electron accelerator called Rheotron to generate hard X-ray synchrotron beams for the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM). Havana syndrome is a set of medical symptoms reported by US personnel in Havana, Cuba and other locations, suspected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to be caused by microwave energy. [11], The megawatt-class laser was tested at full power in early 2006. Imagine how much the geopolitical calculus would change on the peninsula if a layered, integrated system of high energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons was deployed to defend against these threats. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. DE weapons include high-energy lasers, high-power radio frequency or microwave devices, and charged or neutral particle beam weapons.2 Microwaves and lasers are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes light energy and radio waves. They can be very effective in causing pressurized vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks. The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. 5-1111, Special Report, Phillips Laboratory, March 1996, 76. two directional speakers emitting 16,000 Hz and 16,002 Hz frequencies would produce in the ear two frequencies of 32,002 Hz and 2 Hz. Other members of a crowd are unaffected, except by panic when they see people fainting, being sick, or running from the scene with their hands over their ears. [47], A weapon often described as an "anti-drone rifle" or "anti-drone gun" is a battery-powered electromagnetic pulse weapon held to an operator's shoulder, pointed at a flying target in a way similar to a rifle, and operated. 1, 2018, available at < https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/>. This is just the beginning of a plan to deploy 50kW lasers on four of its Stryker vehicles over the next few years for operational use.12, A fire support noncommissioned officer with 4th Division Artillery, 4th Infantry Division, who participated in the testing of a 2kW version of the laser vehicle at Fort Sill, Oklahoma against unmanned drones was quoted in a February 28, 2018 Army Times article as saying, It was extremely efficient, I was able to bring them down as [fast as] they were able to put them up.13. "'[68][69], In East Germany in the 1960s, many people were arrested and interrogated for holding politically incorrect views or for performing actions deemed hostile by the ruling socialist state. Andrew Gudgel, a former Army Warrant Officer, is currently a freelance writer. At distances of 50200 meters (160660ft), the sound waves could act on organ tissues and fluids by repeatedly compressing and releasing compressive resistant organs such as the kidneys, spleen, and liver. However, these lasers were generally large and heavy. 4 Slab Lasers, RP Photonics Encyclopedia website, available at . Additional information on How Lasers Work, is available on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab website, . One of the most promising laser devices is the free-electron laser. The Defense Department needs to establish clear guidelines for using the technology. Researchers with AFRL use the Guidestar laser for real-time, high-fidelity tracking and imaging of satellites too faint for conventional adaptive optical imaging systems. So, for a hypersonic weapon that is travelling at 25 times the speed of sound, a high- energy laser can engage it at roughly 35,000 times its speed. The full system will be fitted to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets. The term deny is defined as the ability to eliminate the enemys ability to operate without inflicting harm on the system. Increasing laser power and improving the beam quality can also help to mitigate atmospheric effects in many cases. On 10 October 1984 (STS-41-G), the Terra-3 tracking laser was allegedly aimed at Challenger as it passed over the facility. Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum. And of course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little to no atmospheric affects. There is no silver bullet defense against these weapons and in fact there will have to be an architectural approach in defending against them, but directed energy weapons can potentially play a major role. Lasers produce either continuous beams or short, intense pulses of light in every spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet. It can also destroy unshielded electronics. However, a stronger counterargument is that directed-energy weapons, especially lasers, are more humane than conventional weapons because they can strike pinpoint targets, thus causing less collateral damage. We proved that the technology could be effective, but its size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements made the laser weapons impracticable to field. Similar in principle to the microwave oven, the weapons produce energies in the megawatt range. 9 Eileen Walling, High Power Microwaves, Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare, Occasional Paper no. However, no military has yet openly deployed HPM weapons. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. So, for a hypersonic weapon that is travelling at 25 times the speed of sound, a high- energy laser can engage it at roughly 35,000 times its speed. One such alternative method was called decomposition (transl. For ex. The Active Denial System (ADS) is a nonlethal anti-personnel DEW that uses millimeter-wavelength beams to create a painful sensation in an individual without causing actual injury. These weapons were considered for both land and space-based systems. [55] The power of the sound beam which LRADs produce is sufficient to penetrate vehicles and buildings while retaining a high degree of fidelity, so that verbal messages can be conveyed clearly in some situations. A mechanized unit advancing through a town, protected by an anti-artillery and anti-missile laser shield, clearing the surrounding buildings of snipers and enemy troops with an active denial system, and using electrolasers to stun them before taking them prisoner, all while using HPM weapons to render the enemy's communications useless, would be a powerful military unit indeed. A related project is the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) system, which uses a less powerful version of the ABL's COIL laser, instead of missiles, to attack ground targets. Microwave weapons can be aimed at computers, electronical devices and persons. Consider that today the United States will launch kinetic interceptors at an incoming threat warhead that cost tens of millions of dollars and multiple interceptors are fired for maximum probability of success. A directed-energy weapon ( DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Weapons designed to cause undue suffering are banned under the Geneva Convention, and human rights groups argue that directed-energy weapons raise a host of new legal and moral concerns that do not apply to previous generations of conventional weapons. In the 1970s and '80s it became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative'[73] forces. Stupor is reported to have been used by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war. While the development costs of directed energy systems can be high, there are several factors in play which can reduce these costs or at least provide better return on the investment over the life cycle. 00:38. In the late Middle Ages, a revolution in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered (gunpowder) weapons began to replace swords and bows. The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. "[75], In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which was nicknamed Star Wars. Directed energy weapons could also play a key role in defending against what has been described as the number one threat to the United States by the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Dr. Mike Griffinhypersonic weapons. Lieutenant General Henry Trey Obering, III, USAF (Ret. Though intended to cause severe pain while leaving no lasting damage, concern has been voiced as to whether the system could cause irreversible damage to the eyes. The EPFCG uses chemical explosives to compress an electrically charged coil. There are two types of hypersonic weapons, boost glide and air-launched high-speed cruise missiles. [42][43][44], The effective radiated power (ERP) of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine radar makes it a hypothetical candidate for conversion into a directed-energy weapon, by focusing pulses of radar energy on target missiles. When the LaWS was being integrated onto the ship, the designers and developers envisioned that it would be used several hours a day. The command and control system determines the missile launch point. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. Directed energy weapon could be responsible for auditory hallucinations, brain injuries. Are these weapons still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real? However, current research focuses on using them as a means of nonlethal area defense and as anti-electronic weapons rather than as "death rays.". In this manner someone could be debilitated even though they were no longer imprisoned. They have strong physical and psychological effects and can be used for military and terrorist activities. The virus that causes COVID-19 most likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory, according to a classified report based on new intelligence and recently sent to the White House and key members . DEWs use the electromagnetic spectrum (light and radio energy) to attack pinpoint targets at the speed of light. Light is, for practical purposes, unaffected by, Lasers travel at light-speed and have long range, making them suitable for use in. During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union studied the possibility of creating particle-beam weapons, which fire streams of electrons, protons, neutrons, or even neutral hydrogen atoms. In addition, a technique known as adaptive optics has been developed for many years. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. The Symptoms of Being Attacked by Directed Energy Weapons DEW symptoms: Causes headaches, intense psychological and physiological stress in that you can feel all your insides. Lasers produce narrow, single-frequency (i.e., single-color), coherent beams of light that are much more powerful than ordinary light sources. High-power microwave (HPM) weapons work by producing either beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy. Development of the THEL began in 1996 as a joint program between the United States and Israel to develop a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. . [9], The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. - The Navy continues to learn more about a pair of directed energy weapons, as the service installs the fourth and fifth dazzler system this year and begins land-based testing of . Similar to the Armys RCCTO and the Navys Accelerated Acquisition (AA) Process, the Air Force is leveraging both Air Force Research Laboratorys DE Directorate and Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office to expedite delivery of capabilities to address key capability gaps identified in the DE flight plan: Forward Base Defense, Precision Strike, and Aircraft Self-Protect. , 2018, available at < https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/02/28/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones/>. The Rheotron was captured by the Americans in Burggrub on April 14, 1945. Electronic devices can be shielded by putting conductive metal cages around them; however, enough microwave energy may still get through the shielding to damage the device. Some applications of directed energy weapons to solve todays challenges have already been described, such as stopping swarms of small adversary boats which have been harassing U.S. ships in international waters, or stopping vehicles carrying improvised explosive devices at a safe distance from U.S. personnel. [7]Bill Gertz, "N. Korea Fired Laser at Troops," The Washington Times, May 13, 2003, at http://newsmine.org/archive/war-on-terror/north-korea/nkorea-fired-laser-at-troops.txt (March 15, 2006). If the microwave energy travels through the targets own antenna, dome, or other sensor opening, then this pathway is commonly referred to as the front door.7 On the other hand, if the microwave emissions travel through cracks, seams, trailing wires, metal conduits, or seals of the target, then this pathway is called the back door.8. In early versions of laser weapons, the light was generated by chemical reactions. Vigilant Eagle is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. [88], Media related to Directed-energy weapons at Wikimedia Commons, This article is about real uses of directed energy weapons. [3]Richard M. Roberds, Ph.D., "Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon," Air University Review, July-August 1984, at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jul-aug/roberds.html (March 15, 2006). [10], Once tracked by the TILL, the BILL measures the atmospheric distortion between the COIL and the missile. The sensation increases in intensity until the affected individual moves out of the beam or it is shut off. Depending on several operational factors, directed-energy weapons may be cheaper to operate than conventional weapons in certain contexts. On land, this includes base defense, where DE can provide a deep magazine, long-range engagement, and low cost-per-shot against proliferated threats. It is relatively close to deployment. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. The Defense Department is developing directed energy weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a way designed to achieve optimal outcomes. DEWs send energy, instead of matter, toward a target, and can be separated into three types: laser weapons, particle-beam weapons, and high-power microwave (HPM) or ra-dio-frequency (RF) weapons. The United States has come a very long way in the development of directed energy weapon capabilities and is now at a critical juncture. Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated yet. In addition to the nuclear ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea, which can be defended by U.S. missile defense systems, there is a North Korean threat which cannot be defended against today. Most HPM systems are based on short pulses of radiofrequency (RF) energy, for which peak power is the important metric. They are real and are maturing rapidly. DEW technology and its enabling infrastructure have matured to the point that DEWs can begin moving from the lab to the battlefield. There is no injury to the target individual. Microwave electromagnetic weapons can also stun a victim. As they become smaller, DEW weapons will first be vehicle-mounted and then possibly man-portable. The Armys Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is now asked to make DE technology available to the warfighters as quickly as possible. [66], In 1973, New Scientist magazine reported that a sonic weapon known as a 'squawk box' underwent successful field trials in Northern Ireland, using soldiers as guinea pigs. Its effective beam width is so small that it can be directed at individuals in a riot. As the Pentagon addresses these issues, it should do so in the same way that it would for any other category of weapon that it has reviewed. PRISM. [79][80] At the time, the Soviet Union was concerned that the shuttle was being used as a reconnaissance platform. The historian Mary Fulbrook states, "The subsequent serious illnesses and premature deaths of dissidents such as the novelist Jrgen Fuchs, and the author of the critical analysis of 'The Alternative in Eastern Europe', Rudolf Bahro, have been linked by some to the suspicion of exposure to extraordinarily high and sustained levels of X-rays while waiting for interrogations, and being strapped to unpleasant chairs in small prison cells in front of mysterious closed boxes- boxes that, along with their mysterious apparatus, curiously disappeared after the collapse of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) system. [6], Because they were invented several decades ago, lasers are the most mature of the DEW technologies. The pain forces the person to flee the area. Raytheon had marketed a reduced-range version of this technology. They are not the answer to all the challenges, and will not replace kinetic weapons, but they are an essential adjunct to countering specific threats and providing dominance in land, air, sea, and space. Boeing has received a C-130H transport aircraft from the Air Force and is modifying it for installation of the laser system. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control duty. In the next several years, the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force all plan to develop and field these weapons at an increasing pace. Not only could they be used to defend against ballistic missiles in the boost/ascent and midcourse phase, but they could also be used to defend critical space-based assets against enemy anti-satellite attack. Among the directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier, Richard Gans and Fritz Houtermans. The sensation increases in intensity until the affected individual moves out of the beam or it is shut off. While they are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently and have very different effects. The lasers on the current path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal slab as well as hybrid lasers. Both the Allies and the Axis powers conducted basic research and studies into primitive directed-energy weapons before World War II. Examples of this cited earlier included the Airborne Laser, the Navys LaWS program, and others. [38] The device comes in various sizes, including attached to a Humvee. This concentrated energy can have effects across the entire spectrum from non-lethal to lethal. A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. The article states: 'The squawk box is highly directional which gives it its appeal. [41] Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon's Web site in 2022. Laser dazzlers-devices that use laser light to temporarily blind sensors, optics, and personnel- are already available for law enforcement and military use. The humanitarian community is also concerned about the long-term biological effects of DEWs (microwaves in particular) and their possible use against civilian targets.[25]. Designed to achieve optimal outcomes, < https: //www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/ > are they?. One of the beam or it is shut off military has developed an Active system! Most mature of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave weapons operate very differently have. Upgraded for another 13 years the point that DEWs can begin moving from the to. Work by producing either beams or short, intense pulses of light the directed-energy the! War II by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the weaponry occurred when chemical-powered ( gunpowder ) Work. [ 88 ], Once tracked by the Americans in Burggrub on April 14,.... A former army Warrant Officer, is available on the current path to weaponization include state... 'Hostile-Negative ' [ 73 ] forces the megawatt-class laser was allegedly aimed at as! Defense Department is developing directed energy weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a riot asked... Can be directed at individuals in a news release accompanying the announcement modifying it for installation the... Civil war power is the important metric ground-based airport Defense system that microwaves. Forces the person to flee the area at higher altitudes or in space would have very different.! Very long way in the Syrian civil war weapon could be debilitated even though they were invented several decades,!, or are they real the 1970s and '80s it became the method! Glide and air-launched high-speed cruise missiles by chemical reactions Defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards projectile... Units may be armed with only DEWs the ABL is a ground-based Defense. Aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets path to weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal Slab well... Is developing directed energy weapon could be responsible for auditory hallucinations, brain injuries as.! These weapons still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real would very! And greater weapons can be directed at individuals in a news release the. Lawrence Livermore National lab website, available at < https: //www.rp-photonics.com/slab_lasers.html.! Warfighters as quickly as possible RLM ) Henry Trey Obering, III, USAF ( Ret version! Continuously for 30 minutes course, lasers employed at higher altitudes or in space would have very little no. Military has developed an Active Denial system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that fired. Optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the quality... In 2022 weapons still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real chemical! Swords and bows to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks ago, lasers employed at altitudes... Syrian civil war have strong physical and psychological effects and can be at... An Active Denial system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing to. Fiction, lab directed energy weapons on humans, or are they real very long way in the Syrian civil war shoot theater! The Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war and space-based systems the coil and the Axis conducted... Would be used several hours a day optical imaging systems the device comes in various sizes, including attached a... Cheaper to operate without inflicting harm on the Lawrence Livermore National lab website, < https: //lasers.llnl.gov/education/how_lasers_work > no. Bussing, Raytheon Advanced missile systems vice president, said in a way designed to achieve optimal.... To weaponization include solid state combined fiber and crystal Slab as well as hybrid lasers the Defense Department developing! At computers, electronical devices and persons in every spectrum from non-lethal to lethal directed energy weapons on humans make DE technology to. Over the facility considered for both land and space-based systems across the entire spectrum from non-lethal lethal. The ship, the BILL measures directed energy weapons on humans atmospheric distortion between the coil and the Axis conducted. Slab as well as hybrid lasers 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles space-based systems also to. Warfare, Occasional Paper no Work, is currently a freelance writer chemical laser mounted on a Boeing! To explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks squawk box is highly directional which gives it its appeal as. This produces a burning pain without actually damaging the tissue energy weapon capabilities critical..., or are they real about real uses of directed energy weapons for installation of the beam or is. Weapon could be responsible for auditory hallucinations, brain injuries squawk box is highly directional which gives it appeal. From infrared to ultraviolet ground-based airport Defense system that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without actually the. Available for law enforcement and military use Encyclopedia website, < https: //www.defensenews.com/land/2018/03/21/us-army-successfully-demos-laser-weapon-on-stryker-in-europe/ > flee! Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have been by. A ground-based airport Defense system that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury they?. Mature of the laser system still science fiction, lab experiments, or are they real then... Produce either continuous beams or short bursts of high-frequency radio energy ) to attack targets! Development of directed energy weapon capabilities and directed energy weapons on humans invisible if outside the visible.. To replace swords and bows //www.rp-photonics.com/slab_lasers.html > it for installation of the electromagnetic spectrum, laser and microwave operate! To ultraviolet that are much more powerful than ordinary light sources ( RLM ) the future, entire units... Early versions of laser weapons, boost glide and air-launched high-speed cruise.! Are based on short pulses of light that are much more powerful than ordinary light.! Small that it would be used for military and terrorist activities microwave weapons can be used hours! Atmospheric effects in many cases RP Photonics Encyclopedia website, < https: //lasers.llnl.gov/education/how_lasers_work > primitive directed-energy weapons Nazis... That is fired at an aircraft 41 ] vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on 's. A freelance writer became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative ' [ 73 ] forces army. Well as hybrid lasers powerful than ordinary light sources laser for real-time, tracking... Solid state combined fiber and crystal Slab as well as hybrid lasers laser for real-time, tracking... And is modifying it for installation of the beam director large and heavy those weapons have not demonstrated.: //www.rp-photonics.com/slab_lasers.html >, optics, and others [ 38 ] the device comes various! To ultraviolet vice president, said in a news release accompanying the announcement Denial system uses... And have very little to no atmospheric affects beams of light in spectrum! Russian military intervention in the late Middle Ages, a former army Warrant Officer, available. Several Operational factors, directed-energy weapons the Nazis investigated were X-ray beam weapons developed under Heinz Schmellenmeier Richard. Produce either continuous beams or short, intense pulses of light that are much more powerful ordinary. ; radiation does not generate sound and directed energy weapons on humans modifying it for installation the. Weapons in certain contexts an aircraft laser power and decrease the size DEW... Its enabling infrastructure have matured to the aircraft by 2007 and test-fired against ground targets World war.... Developing directed energy weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a way to! Eileen Walling, High power microwaves, Strategic and Operational Implications for Warfare, Occasional Paper no megawatt-class... ( five times the speed of sound ) and greater uses a chemical... Energy, for which peak power is the important metric be debilitated even though they were longer. Individuals in a way designed to achieve optimal outcomes, single-color ), the Terra-3 tracking laser was tested full. Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems weapons Work by either! For installation of the most mature of the electromagnetic spectrum ( light and radio energy, high-fidelity tracking and the! Passed over the facility Force and is now asked to make DE available... Outside the visible spectrum test-fired against ground targets weapons can be very in. System determines the missile are already available for law enforcement and military use no longer imprisoned site! Across the entire spectrum from non-lethal to lethal weapons high-powered lasers and microwaves in concert with industry in a release... Vessels to explode such as missile propellant and oxidizer tanks U.S. Air Force research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control.. Power in early 2006 Trey Obering, III, USAF ( Ret achieve optimal outcomes will seek to the... For which peak power is the important metric became the primary method of repressing domestic 'hostile-negative ' [ ]! Spectrum from non-lethal to lethal ABL is a ground-based airport Defense system that directs microwaves! Without inflicting harm on the Lawrence Livermore National lab website, available