Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon
The crowd is getting ugly. Soldiers roll up in a Hummer. Suddenly, the whole right half of your body is screaming in agony. You feel like you’ve been dipped in molten lava. You almost faint from shock and pain, but instead you stumble backwards — and then start running. To your surprise, everyone else is running too. In a few seconds, the street is completely empty.
You’ve just been hit with a new nonlethal weapon that has been certified for use in Iraq — even though critics argue there may be unforeseen effects.
According to documents obtained for Wired News under federal sunshine laws, the Air Force’s Active Denial System, or ADS, has been certified safe after lengthy tests by military scientists in the lab and in war games.
The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves — 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.
The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.
… and we spend more and more time and money developing improved ways to turn warfighters into glorified policemen.
Don’t give the terrorists a third arm to use against us…
This weapon is not necessary.
Get out of Iraq, then you don’t have to shoot any Iraqis.
What happens when a few of these things are captured?
“To your surprise, everyone else is running too..” How many people in a large crowd will be trampled or crushed to death? The weapon will only have a certain range and the front of the crowd will panic while the back of the crowd surges forward to see what the comotion is about. How many people affected by this weapon will have a greater chance of developing cancer 5-20 years in the future?
And what if you don’t run??? If you have no idea of what’s happening and stay there or just happens to pass out, then what? You lie there while your cornea melts??
4. As opposed to a .50 cal machine gun being captured?
Also they can always build their own and so can you.
http://www.deltaforce.com/catalog/page30dp.html#1659
John:
In a perfect world, the military would have a shield available, but yes, somebody will capture it.
However, I’m reminded of the situation in WWI where the US Military refused to deploy the excellent Browning Automatic Rifle because the Germans might get their hands on one. Instead they took the BAR’s back and issued French guns (can’t remember the spelling, but it sounds like “shoo-shoo”) that were barely functional, and worthless in the mud of a trench. How many Americans died based on that decision?
I’m not 100% about the safety of this thing, but the other issue with respect to capture is that it’s not likely to kill anybody…. It’s also pretty easy to make one of these once it’s known that it’s possible, and I don’t think we can assume that our enemies will bother to test their safety.
Regards,
Stu.
Geek response? Your own personal H.A.R.M. (High speed Anti Radiation Missile) to take out the “Goodbye” weapon. Die pigs die!
Excuse me … am I drooling?
How long before you hear about this new crowd control weapon being deployed and being used on unruly mobs of US citizens?
If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.
And if used improperly what?
#1 – Glorified policemen? Yes. maybe… But our military is being deployed with greater regularity to fight non-traditional combatants. They aren’t lining up in trenches to shoot at the enemy line. They aren’t storming the beach. And the aren’t sneaking through the jungle in search of Charlie.
With urban warfare comes the reality that civilians are often involved. And often, not as combatants. It seems that more and more are are fighting the Middle Eastern variation of The Montana Freeman on Steriods. I mean, who is the enemy in Iraq? It isn’t Iraq. We are setting up that government. We are training Iraqis.
This kind of enemy is using civilian populations are cover and as cannon fodder. If we have a tool that can reduce civilian deaths, help protect our troops, and thwart enemy tactics, then good…
We aren’t going to replace guns and artilery with this new tool. We are only going to add it to the list of options to use when the situation warrants.
—
And John… when the enemy captures one, we blow it up.
#11 – Your concern is what I think the real concern should be…
#11 & #14 How is this any worse than current crowd control methods used in the US? I love how liberals bitch about police with guns and then the police get non lethal weapons (Tasers and before that stun guns).
I’d personally rather get zapped by this thing than get hit over the head with a billy club, or shot with a rubber bullet.
That said, To the people of Iraq. I will be selling aluminum foil suits for $1000 each. Please send your orders in now and avoid the pre-Ramadan rush.
11 Just a few more Taser and Bean Bag-to-the-head deaths from now.
RBG
“If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.” Isn’t that what they said about Agent Orange?
It’s a weapon and therefore cool. It uses high technology and is therefore cooler yet. The combined effect is ultra-cool.
Better this than a machine gun.
Hmm think about the implications down the road for pest management. Evacuate your home and use a wide displacement beam suspended below a crane or helicopter and you could effectively rid your property of ants, roaches, moles, voles, mice, in-laws whatever ails you.
I have GOT to get me one of these!!!!
mount it to my car, perhaps 1 on each side w/ a toggle switch or 2 on the dash – wooha!! instant fun!!
21. Like that Baryon sweep in Star Trek TNG?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryon_sweep
RBG
This would be great to have on a get-a-way car to discourage the police.
LOL #24, my sentiments exactly
The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves — 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.
The writer doesn’t know what s/he’s talking about.
Infrared rays are the next shorter wavelength/higher frequency to microwaves, not “x-rays”. “Millimeter rays” are Extremely High Frequency waves, the high end of the microwave spectrum.
There is a huge gap between microwaves and x-rays – it includes (moving from wavelength/frequency from the former to the latter) the infrared spectrum, the visible spectrum, and the ultraviolet spectrum.
I’m surprised that someone writing for Wired would be so scientifically ignorant.
#15 – #11 & #14 How is this any worse than current crowd control methods used in the US? I love how liberals bitch about police with guns and then the police get non lethal weapons (Tasers and before that stun guns).
I’d personally rather get zapped by this thing than get hit over the head with a billy club, or shot with a rubber bullet.
Comment by Gig — 12/5/2006 @ 9:17 am
You don’t love how “liberals bitch” about police… You actually hate how you imagine liberals bitch about police. Let’s be honest, shall we?
I too would rather be hit with that device than with a club or a rubber bullet. My concern is in today’s authoritarian climate, who might be making the decision to use a device like this against a domestic crowd, and why.
Civil disobedience is a patriotic act. I know the law and order fetishists don’t see it that way, but too bad, it is. The government is supposed to answer to the people, no matter how much some of those in the government might hate that idea.
I’d have no problem with authorities using this device to safely disperse a riot where people are in danger… My concern, and I think the concern of other “liberals’ might be the abusive use of this device to disperse peaceful assemblies or protests for reasons of political expediency. It isn’t hard to imagine force being mis-used because it has happened on many occassions. Think back to the four kids killed at Kent State in the late 60’s. As I recall, at least one of them was actually involved in the protest that led to the shootings.
To characterize that concern as anti-police would be disingenious at best and an outright lie at worst.
Let’s all criticize non-lethal weapons. After all, the lethal kind are sooo much better.
I wonder if you can cook with it. Just point and cook.. no mess no fuss..
Someone just invented the doorless microwave.
I thought that the “Air Force’s Active Denial System” meant discrediting female soldiers who sued for rape in the armed forces.
27,
Well said. Too bad #28 didn’t bother to read it.
First order of business, No 8, the weapon you’re referring to was the Chauchat, and it really was a piece of junk.
That said, I have some serious concerns about the millimeter wave weapon. Years ago, I used to read about guys who used to line up microwave waveguides by eye. A lot of them came down with cataracts later on. For this thing to work, the power densities have to be greater than what those guys were exposed to. Last I heard, the safety limit was 100milliwatts per square centimeter. This thing has to exceed that.
And consider this. In addition to heating the water in your cells, it’s going to heat the vitrious humor of your eyes. That can’t be good for them.
And I don’t trust military testing at all. Your career depends on getting the product approved an into service, and dealing with safety issues like whether it’s going to blind somebody down the road or not, is quite likely to be secondary.
Bottom line is that this is a bad weapon, and we don’t need the problems that it’s likely to cause us down the road.
Wow! Can you imagine what will happen if you stuffed your coat with packets of microwave popcorn? That would be content for Youtube for sure.