US May Debut Secret Microwave 'Pulse' Weapon Versus Iraq

Reuters News Wire ^ | Feb. 2, 2003 | Will Dunham

[ewing]

It substitues pure energy for munitions. It is designed to achieve military objectives without killing things or wrecking buildings.

And Saddam Husseins armed forces may be chosen as the first target of the US Military's new secret weapon.

The US Air Force is developing high power microwave, or HPM, weapon that generates a massive electromagnetic pulse capable of frying the inside of digital electronic systems, disabling enemy military equipment, analysts said.

While the weapon is top secret and details about it are classified, analyists say development is far enough along that they expect the military to use an HPM weapon for the first time in a possible war against Iraq.

[Chi-townChief]

"The US Air Force is developing high power microwave, or HPM, weapon that generates a massive electromagnetic pulse capable of frying the inside of digital electronic systems, disabling enemy military equipment, analysts said."

Remember "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with the EMP stopping everything? Klaatu barada nikto!

[A Patriot Son]

Airborne Laser

[A Patriot Son]

Nuclear Weapon EMP Effects

[Steve0113]

"A fabulous target would be a deeply buried command bunker or chemical-biological weapons bunker that we weren't certain that we could dig out of the ground with conventional explosives but which would have to have communications and power lines going into and out of it. It's almost impossible to buffer those lines against a power surge," Thompson said.

Small problem: Saddam has an extensive network of fiber-optic communication lines. This would have no effect on them.

[A Patriot Son]

America's Ultra-Secret Weapon

[Bogey78O]

Squelch was just a CB joke.

[finnman69]

Kewl, we can fry Saddam's air defenses and make microwave popcorn for the entire city of Baghdad at the same time.

[demosthenes the elder]

oh, a HERF cannon. "poor man's nuke"
cool, but I like daisy cutters better.

[demosthenes the elder]

not MY guns.

[Tailback]

Is anyone else thinking like me that this would instantly make Intel, AMD, and Microsoft stock skyrocket? Can you say goodbye tech-sector recession? Lets see, HP, Sun microsystems, Apple, VIA, Crucial.....

[SouthernFreebird]

It is designed to achieve military objectives without killing things or wrecking buildings.

Is this a ggod thing? I don't believe anything short of mass destruction stopping the Arab mindset. They think the Challenger was a sign from God...... what would they take a war with no death and destruction as...

[BenLurkin]

Hey Saddam, you're casserole is just about cooked:

[mikrofon]

Dropping microwave ovens over Iraq to the poor, deprived population would seem to be good strategery to rile up the masses against Saddam .... perhaps even complete with turkeys? ;^)

[justrepublican]

All your gameboy are belong to us!

[Better Dead Than Red]

Have you ever heard of HERO (hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordinance)? An electrical spark caused a rocket to shot from its pod and started a huge fire on one of our aircraft carriers during Vietnam. Remember that on the first night of the War On Terrorism the Afghans had a few SAM sites until we took them out. Think how cool it would be if we could cause SAMs to blow up on thier launchers.

[HiTech RedNeck]

They're useless without working transceivers on each end.

[Grampa Dave]

HPMs can unleash in a flash as much electrical power—2 billion watts or more—as the Hoover Dam generates in 24 hours. Capacitors aboard the missile discharge an energy pulse—moving at the speed of light and impervious to bad weather—in front of the missile as it nears its target.

BAM! HOW TO REALLY MICROWAVE THE WEINERS OF SODDOMITE AND HIS ISLAMOFACISTS AND KICK IT UP A NOTCH OR TWO!

[Steve0113]

They're useless without working transceivers on each end.

Good point -- those would be vulnerable.

[Steve0113]

I don't believe anything short of mass destruction stopping the Arab mindset.

We'll get to that, if necessary. Let's give them a chance to surrender first.

[SouthernFreebird]

But if we don't hurt them bad enough they will just wait it out and attack us again. I think we need to hit them hard so they won't forget for 100's of generations.