Less Radiation

The Sunday Times’s InGear supplement reports today – Microwave beam weapons are coming soon.

Mark Harris reports that the Home Office are investigating the potential of these weapons, and the Scientific Development Branch will publish a report sometime next month.

These weapons come under the broad description of Active Denial Systems or ADS. They can focus a beam of Microwave RF at an individual (or group) 500 yards away that causes the victim to feel an incapacitating burning sensation.

The US based Raytheon comapny are behind a prototype weapon called Silent Guardian. The original version was vehicle mounted and weighed several tons. As with so many things, miniaturisation is the goal. They have already scaled the device down to backpack size, although battery requirements will mean it won’t be incorporated in the next Nokia mobile!

Apparently they have done over 10,000 test firings on willing human volunteers… I wonder how much that job payed? Anyway, they say that 99% of people, who expressed a preference, said ‘it was jolly uncomfortable’. The weapon is designed to be fired in short bursts of between one and six seconds at a range of several hundred yards – during testing one unlucky soul got much too close and the resulting burns required skin grafts. Eek.

One thought does occur to me though. If it fits in a rucksack and you need to be several hundred yards away to avoid getting burnt, then what happens to the poor bastard doing the firing? Even with a silver coated bobbinet all-in-one romper suit and a big old earthing strap, that’s got to be bloody dangerous. Can it be operated by remote control? I’m guessing that this item could also be pretty good at upsetting a room full of computers several hundred yards away too? Now that could be fun!

Apparently the Home Office don’t have plans to give it to the village Bobby just yet, but surely it’s only a matter of time… The US Air Force is claimed to be one of the first paying customers for the system.

Just another tale from a Crazy World.