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US Army heat-ray gun in Afghanistan
BBC News ^ | 7/18/2010 | Dan Cairns

Posted on 07/17/2010 9:38:46 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld

The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon designed to disperse violent crowds and repel enemies.

It uses a focused invisible beam that causes an "intolerable heating sensation", but only penetrates the skin to the equivalent of three sheets of paper.

The discomfort causes whoever it's pointed at to immediately start moving away. They often scream but the US military says the chance of injury from the system is 0.1%.

It's already been tested more than 11,000 times on around 700 volunteers. Even reporters have faced the heat-ray.

Limit deaths

Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a US military spokesperson, says the kit is now in Afghanistan but no decision has yet been made on its use.

There's been much talk about the need to keep civilian casualties in Afghanistan to a minimum. The heat-ray gun could help.

The beam produced by the ADS can travel more than 500m (1,640ft) and is seen as an important new way to limit unnecessary deaths and minimise war zone casualties.

Developers also say it could also be adapted to other operations, like fighting drug smuggling at sea and general peacekeeping operations.

Research is continuing to make the system smaller, lighter and less expensive, says the Pentagon's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ads; afghanistan; banglist; heatray; nonlethal; rayguns; usarmy; usmilitary
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1 posted on 07/17/2010 9:38:50 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

A mirror and a magnifying lens???


2 posted on 07/17/2010 9:40:16 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: HiTech RedNeck
The ADS works by firing a high-powered beam of electromagnetic radiation in the form of high-frequency microwaves at 95 GHz.Similar to the same way that a microwave oven heats food, the millimeter waves excite the water and fat molecules in the body, instantly heating it and causing intense pain.
3 posted on 07/17/2010 9:44:26 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

Wait a minute. I thought the purpose of going to war was to kill people and break things. That’s the unofficial motto of the US Marine Corps, isn’t it? I thought we were supposed to maximize enemy deaths, not minimize them. What am I missing here?


4 posted on 07/17/2010 9:44:59 PM PDT by ottbmare (I could agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.)
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To: sonofstrangelove
High-tech weenie roaster....


5 posted on 07/17/2010 9:45:48 PM PDT by 50cal Smokepole (Effective gun control involves effective recoil management)
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To: sonofstrangelove

I was hoping crap cannon would be operational now?


6 posted on 07/17/2010 9:46:38 PM PDT by kbennkc (For those who have fought for it freedom has a flavor the protected will never know .F Trp 8th Cav)
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To: 50cal Smokepole

I think it would be pretty cool zapping people.


7 posted on 07/17/2010 9:46:42 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: 50cal Smokepole

Looks like a good target for a high powered rifle...hmm


8 posted on 07/17/2010 9:48:03 PM PDT by saintgermaine
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To: 50cal Smokepole

Looks like a good target for a high powered rifle...hmm


9 posted on 07/17/2010 9:48:08 PM PDT by saintgermaine
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To: saintgermaine

The lens seems to be wafer thin.


10 posted on 07/17/2010 9:49:11 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Can i get one for my morning and afternoon commute?


11 posted on 07/17/2010 9:49:54 PM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom sarc ;))
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To: ottbmare

It’s very obvious. There is no goal here, unless it’s that nonsense about making Afghanistan into a Western style democracy. Fat chance. So, we keep on keeping on in an exercise in futility. Nobody seems to know what is going on or how it will end.


12 posted on 07/17/2010 9:50:50 PM PDT by Pining_4_TX
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To: ottbmare

going to war was to kill people and break things

I learned that from Rush and that is why we don’t win wars anymore


13 posted on 07/17/2010 9:51:08 PM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom sarc ;))
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To: sonofstrangelove
The demo vids I've seen are impressive. Saw that guy from Future Weapons run like a little girl when he got zapped. The Viking Kitties would approve, methinks.
14 posted on 07/17/2010 9:51:50 PM PDT by 50cal Smokepole (Effective gun control involves effective recoil management)
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To: saintgermaine

A bullet hole won’t do crap to it, unless the emitter is hit, or the optical sensors.


15 posted on 07/17/2010 9:55:01 PM PDT by 50cal Smokepole (Effective gun control involves effective recoil management)
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To: 50cal Smokepole
High-tech weenie roaster....

That would be something if they could aim it THAT precisely...

16 posted on 07/17/2010 9:55:37 PM PDT by jiggyboy (Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: al baby

The trend is to fight wars in non-lethal riot control mode, while our domestic police become more and more military like. It’s all one big happy police action under global socialism.


17 posted on 07/17/2010 9:55:52 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: saintgermaine

Looks like a good target for a high powered rifle...hmm


Especially when 0bama starts using these things here in the United States.


18 posted on 07/17/2010 9:56:29 PM PDT by unkus
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To: sonofstrangelove
Coming soon to a thug cop near you. And will he ever be itching to use it. More fun than a taser. Torture isn't allowed except against American citizens for not being compliant.

19 posted on 07/17/2010 9:56:31 PM PDT by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: I see my hands

See my post # 18.


20 posted on 07/17/2010 9:58:02 PM PDT by unkus
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