MICROWAVE BOMB OUR SECRET WEAPON

New York Post ^ | 1/27/03 | NILES LATHEM

[Types_with_Fist]

I like the Post. But how can they use the word "secret" in this report? Today's News

[Lancey Howard]

MICROWAVE BOMB OUR SECRET WEAPON

I hope nobody finds out about it.

[Jeff Chandler]

Shh! Is the popcorn done yet?

[Mr. Mojo]

The program is so secret, the Pentagon has not released pictures involving it, nor explained precisely how it will work.

Secret? I read a long article about this "secret" program in Popular Mechanics about a year ago, and it went into fairly elaborate detail.

[EternalVigilance]

[Ichneumon]

Secret? I read a long article about this "secret" program in Popular Mechanics about a year ago, and it went into fairly elaborate detail.

I did too. Basically it's the EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) blast from a nuclear weapon, without the nuke. Pretty clever. It fries any electronics within a large radius that aren't protected, and it's hard to properly protect them.

To make one, in essence, you make a gigantic induction coil, similar in concept to the one in your car's ignition. When you're ready to fire, you charge it up to some ungodly electrical potential, then set off an explosives charge that vaporizes the coil, "setting free" its magnetic field. The main trick is vaporizing the coil at just the right speed, so that it destroys itself as fast as its magnetic wave is collapsing. This gives the magnetic equivalent of a sonic boom, if you will.

[FBD]

Ping to Grampa Dave

I think this is the weapon we were discussing.
You were talking about a pulse weapon...

I had seen a rumor about a powerful laser weapon mounted on a military version of the 707; would be it be called a KC-135?

This says a C-130 w/ 2 billion watts of microwave power...gotta be nuclear. Wow.

[FBD]

You read that also?

I related that to Grampa Dave, and I thought it was just science fiction!

It's gotta be nuclear powered, wouldn't you think?
I can't believe it would be on a Tomahawk missile, however...

[.45MAN]

Read an article about this in the "NASA Briefs" Monthly about a year ago. Thhe unit that I saw mounts on the back on a HumVee.....

[Mr. Mojo]

Excellent explanation. ....clear and concise.

[LibWhacker]

Not nuclear. Amazingly, it's all done with conventional explosives. Pretty good article (but long) about it and its variants here.

[prisoner6]

or fired from a special radar gun mounted on a C-130 transport jet.

Admittedly I haven't read about the weapon in detail but I'm wondering if it indeed creates a EMP pulse or wave, how does one protect the C130? I would imagine it would be very difficult to aim and focus the expanding pulse.

Then again, I ain't no scientist, although I play one in my mind.

prisoner6

[LibWhacker]

The E-bomb has limited range. So the plane can drop it and get out of there. Also can be delivered by cruise missile. Check that link I put up (it has some decent graphics . . . Unfortunately, I think the Air Force has shut down the server for the weekend . . . Check the link again tomorrow to see all the pretty pictures).

[prisoner6]

Thanks! Yes, the graphics seem to be down. I'll check again a bit later.

prisoner6

[Cindy]

No, it's not a secret.
How do I know?
I can read the article here and on the NYPOST.com site.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Interesting read-ping.

[Lion's Cub]

The program is so secret, the Pentagon has not released pictures involving it, nor explained precisely how it will work.

Doesn't matter what the the Pentagon does or does not release. Since it was developd at the National Labs, our enemies already have the plans. Heck, with all the manufacturing base overseas, they probably have more than we do by now...

[Bullish]

This is so secret that everybody's talking about it.

[Reactionary]

G-d bless the United States of America.