[Southack]

I’m not planning on reading all of the comments, but #1:

EMP is a Space phenomenon. Not terrestrial. Doesn’t happen with a ground burst or sub-sea burst.

Knowing this one fact, you may now treat the article for this thread appropriately...as fiction.

[butterdezillion]

Nobody is claiming that an undersea nuke was intended to create an EMP. The claim is that the military guy refused to do a proper launch of an EMP nuke (which would be called an Iranian attack, presumably, as set up by Lindsey Graham) and instead detonated it in the ocean where it would not do the damage.

[WhiskeyX]

“EMP is a Space phenomenon. Not terrestrial. Doesn’t happen with a ground burst or sub-sea burst.”

NEMP, HEMP, NNEMP, devices are designed to be deployed within the atmosphere from the PBL (Planetary Boundary Layer) near the Earth’s surface and upwards into space. HANE or HEMP devices may in some cases be employed within the mid-Stratosphere at altitudes of 20 to 30 miles above ground level (AGL).

Note: the alleged sub-sea detonation of a nuclear weapon was described in the source as a means of denying weapon access so it could not be used for an EMP attack.

[Cold Heat]

There was no detail on the delivery methods contemplated. You are chasing a false ghost there. We do have tactical EMP’s....or should have, just makes sense to have something that disrupts command and control.

Most any nuclear device delivers a EMP pulse. The space based type, (I have only seen imaginative drawings) are constructed with a lens or focal magnifier, like a shaped charge that increases the effectiveness and focuses the pulse.

That is not what that rather unusual story was speaking of. In my view, a tactical EMP would be air detonated at specific attitude and altitude delivering a emp pulse over a area determined by the size of the warhead...(just a guess but a 75-100 mile effective area would be achievable with a smallish warhead because the pulse will travel along the grids in the area affected...the delivery could be done by a aircraft or missile. Most likely a aircraft. IMO...Just conjecture here...I have no inside info on current capabilities. Just have a lot of common sense.

Since the 1980s, when the Canadian grid went down because of a solar CME , we in the electrical field have been instituting new electrical codes to deal with magnetic interferences. Not done specifically for EMP's but done for CME's from the sun.

Surge protections have come a long way since the 1989 event.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1989_geomagnetic_storm

We have been mandating surge protections in residences and on the grids in the US for a few years now..

All that said, I made the statement on this thread that I thought the damages inferred by the story were widely exaggerated. I think that is largely due to Hollywood and their oft times ridiculous movies about a EMP Armageddon.

But is there is any truth to the rest of the story and there does seem to be some dots connected here, then a destructive event of that nature is not required...three tactical devices air detonated in the right places would have little radioactivity dangers but would substantially damage the power infrastructures (transformers) in three selected areas to the point that it could take over a year to repair and would require major re locations while that is being done of potentially millions of people.

Your guess is as good as mine, if there is substance to aspects of this story. Frankly I find it interesting and appalling at the same time. I also see enough truth in it to want to know more.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html