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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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To: sonofstrangelove
I've seen demonstrations of this thing. It appears to work quite well. Not sure if Afghanistan is the best application for what is essentially a crowd-control device, though.

On a somewhat/not really related note...years ago I heard a story about somewhat similar effects associated with the Smerch radar system used on the MiG-25 Foxbat. The story goes that pilots were forbidden to activate the radar while still on the ground in part because the energy from the pulse (the Smerch could put out over 500 kilowatts) could kill animals wandering outside the fences at the airbase.

Dunno if there's any truth to that tale, but I always thought it sounded cool. :-)

41 posted on 07/17/2010 10:48:17 PM PDT by DemforBush (Serpentine, Shel! SERPENTINE!)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Coming soon to a tea party rally in your town!


42 posted on 07/17/2010 10:59:00 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

Oh... and all the people at the tea party rally will be billed $10 for the suntan.


43 posted on 07/17/2010 11:01:58 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: sonofstrangelove
The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon designed to disperse violent crowds and repel enemies.

I haven't heard of human wave attacks in Afghanistan yet. I don't think this would work well against a moving point target.

44 posted on 07/17/2010 11:30:34 PM PDT by Sarajevo (You're jealous because the voices only talk to me.)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Can it heat up frozen burritos?


45 posted on 07/17/2010 11:33:59 PM PDT by WKUHilltopper (Fix bayonets!)
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To: WKUHilltopper

I think it can


46 posted on 07/17/2010 11:34:44 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

“I agree. This weapon can be used against US citizens”

I think you mean “will”. Look for one rolling down Main Street USA any day now.


47 posted on 07/17/2010 11:39:47 PM PDT by WKUHilltopper (Fix bayonets!)
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To: kbennkc

Crap cannon goes back to Tesla, on 1 stting all male fill their bloomers, at the 2nd setting all females fill their bloomers,,,talk about crowd control.


48 posted on 07/17/2010 11:50:14 PM PDT by Waco (From Seward to Sarah)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Sounds like they need to put it to work on the southern border... set it up on the smuggling trails and let it rip... Oh sorry, forgot who was running this country...


49 posted on 07/18/2010 1:27:17 AM PDT by AzNASCARfan
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To: ottbmare

Active denial system ha?How about a neutron bomb activation?Now that would be a real active,Not to mention radio active denial system.

The one thing about it though is it will work and your enemies will not be soon returning.


50 posted on 07/18/2010 4:35:55 AM PDT by puppypusher
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To: WKUHilltopper

Agreed. This is not a weapon of war- it is a weapon to crush dissent.


51 posted on 07/18/2010 5:52:24 AM PDT by GenXteacher (He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart!)
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To: sonofstrangelove

On the whole, a cariage mounted quad-fifty does a more reliable job.


52 posted on 07/18/2010 6:00:51 AM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: sonofstrangelove

Limit deaths? OK, in situations where innocent individuals could become collateral damage, but failing to kill the terrorists simply means that they’ll be back.


53 posted on 07/18/2010 8:28:49 AM PDT by JimRed (To water the Tree of Liberty is to excise a cancer before it kills us. TERM LIMITS, NOW AND FOREVER!)
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To: Waco
Crap cannon goes back to Tesla, on 1 stting all male fill their bloomers, at the 2nd setting all females fill their bloomers,,,talk about crowd control.

Love me some Nicky Tesla inventions. I wish he would have had Ron Popeil's PR skills and patent lawyers.

54 posted on 07/18/2010 8:34:27 AM 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: Secret Agent Man

LOL....


55 posted on 07/18/2010 8:38:05 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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To: kbennkc

Cross-firing .50 M2s work wonders dispersing crowds, too.


56 posted on 07/18/2010 10:48:11 AM PDT by dtrpscout (A bad dog is better than most good people.)
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To: DemforBush

Heard the same about birds flying in front of the old SPS-48 (3-4 Megawatts) and now the SPY-1 series. Just drop out of the sky. Tightly focused microwave energy is a nasty thing.....


57 posted on 07/18/2010 11:06:16 AM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: sonofstrangelove
This could have some "creative" uses....


58 posted on 07/18/2010 12:13:17 PM PDT by The Pack Knight (Duty, Honor, Country)
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To: ottbmare
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?

Killing unarmed civilians is generally frowned upon in modern warfare, even when those civilians might be sympathetic to the enemy. When we have an enemy that routinely uses such civilians as human shields, I can see why a device like this might be useful.
59 posted on 07/18/2010 12:17:39 PM PDT by The Pack Knight (Duty, Honor, Country)
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To: The Pack Knight

It sounded in the article as if they were going to be using it not just on civilians but on actual enemy forces, too.


60 posted on 07/18/2010 12:37:52 PM PDT by ottbmare (Off-the-Track Thoroughbred Mare)
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