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Radiofrequency Weapons
BWJones writes "Global security is running a fairly detailed and interesting story on E-bombs (not email bombs, rather electronic microwave weapons) taken from the IEEE Spectrum Online.
We have long known (since the 1940's) about the effects that high energy weapons can have on electronic components from nuclear blasts, but this class of weapons is designed to exclusively attack electronic infrastructure. "
Call me morbid and i haven't read the article yet. but i think we would want neutron bombs. those kill all the people and leave the machinery intact. i would think from a military perspective that would be the better option. morals aside isn't it better to wipe out the enemy and use their weapons to attack the remaining soldiers.
Hmm.. maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree on a subject that I'm not too familiar with, but as I recall most military applications are shielded against EM pulses (to protect against the EMP effects of nuclear weapons). Wouldn't it then stand to reason that "e-bombs" would be more useful on civilian infrastructure/targets? I.e: You can take out that TV station (like we may have done in Iraq?), but you (probably) won't be able to fry the radar on that MIG-29.
With that in mind, could these weapons then become like chemical or biological weapons? Deadly to civilian populations but mostly useless against modern first-world military forces? If Saddam had gassed our troops it might have caused a few casualties and slowed us down... but it wouldn't have stopped us. If he had gassed the NYC subway system.....
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Modern wars are fought mainly between irregulars armed with AK-47 and mortars. No, it won't revolutionize these conflicts and it doesn't matter against partisants.
Save the bandwidth. Don't use sigs!
Really? I'd like to see how millions of dollars of hightech electronic equipment can defend agaist people who are willing strap bombs to themselves and bomb just about anything that get in their way.
The real fight the US faces is NOT relatively high-tech foes like the Soviet Union, but low-tech guys armed with home-made bombs scavanged from artillery rounds and AK-47s.
What good is this kind of technology against these foes? It's almost impossible to think we even face an enemy capable of fielding a large force for a stand-up battle, let alone one easily immobilized by EM. Even the North Koreans, on anyone's short list for potential combat, likely rely heavily on WWII-era or older combat communications unaffected by EMP.
Unless the people building the "destroy" device also have the contract to "rebuild". Then it makes perfect sense!
I wouldn't be calling this very non-lethal if it managed to get aboard a plane at 20,000 feet ... or in an air-traffic-control room ... or on an ocean liner several hundred miles from land ... or in a subway ...
... it's the civilian ramifications that are scary.
I'm not worried about the military aspects of this device
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As I understand it, this technology got big when there was a need to simulate the Electromagnetic Pulse from little nukes, but treaties forbade it. There were four ways to simulate this discharge of energy, one used capacitors and coils, one used a chemical reaction, and I forget the other two. According to TV reports, some of the cruise missles Clinton used on Bagdhad between the two golf wars had originally been fitted with these warheads, and they had to be re-armed with conventional explosives prior to launch. So unless it was to scare the Iraqi's, why announce these weapons as news?
One thing that these e-bombs won't effect are devices made out of vacume tubes. A while back we got this guy who used to work at a military contractor company and he would tell us interesting stories.
One of them was that during the cold war when the US air force first got their hands on MiGs they would laugh at the plane's electronics using vacume tube technology. Air force stopped laughing when they finally found out that the Sovets were expecting the pilots to fly at least one mission after nuke strike. At the time, there were no harden electronics and vacume tubes were known to not be effected by EMP generated by nuke explosion. Besides the as long as the plane can fly, all they need is for the pilot to stay alive for one mission after exposure.
This of course doesn't mean vacuum tubes are gona make a come back, but it sure is a poor man's way of "harden" the electronics against such a weapon.
Besides, if you're gonna pick it apart, there's a much more fatal flaw. The plan doesn't work at all in the real world. *Spoilers Below* So, they tell the casino to take out bags of money, and give them bags, which are loaded in a truck. The truck is then driven to the airport, at which point it is discovered that the bags are filled with fliers from hookers. How did they get those bags filled with those down there? At this point, only the guy stuffed in the box, george clooney, and brad pitt are down there. The SWAT team comes afterwards. You think they could make a movie that works, yah?
The safest way to approach lava is to have another person with you and he goes first.
Try again. Don't forget about the difference between energy and power. A high energy microwave weapon may not have enough total power to hurt you, but it probably will induce enough electrostatic voltage to pop a few gates in most new CMOS devices.
If you read the article, you'd notice that power supply issues are relevant here. The interest is in very high energy weapons, but relatively low power. We can't afford to power these things with the Hoover Dam, you know...
Nearly fifty percent of all graduates come from the bottom half of the class!
Anyone who has designed military hardware (which I have), knows that COTS was just a buzzword that was paid lipservice but never implemented. This was just a way for the military to say to america: "Hey, we are spending your money wisely!"
Military stuff is made to much higher standards of process control, reliability, and performance. Sure you might start with a COTS vendor and product, but at a minimum you pile a buch of MIL-SPECS on thier product, ending up with what amounts to a custom product anyway.
This goes for electronics such as op-amps and connectors, to mechanical parts such as bearings, paint, adhesives, etc.
Also, learn some manners. Don't post with such a smug, smartass, know-it-all tone, when you haven't a clue.
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The reality of the political situation matters. We in fact could NOT drop nukes on Iraq, or massacre unarmed civilians by the tens of millions. There are 1 billion Muslims who might take offense at that, in addition to the fact that it would sever all of our existing alliances and we would be placed on a moral level equal with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. This would OBLIGATE the rest of the world to declare a war on us, a war where there could be no substitute for victory, no pause and no armistice. Even Canada would declare war on us. Even if we won, we would be destroyed, thousands of millions of people could die. Such an act would be a complete and total disaster for the US and the world, and only a moron would actually think such a thing would be a good idea.
True victory is always won in the hearts and minds of the enemy. They must be beaten, in every sense of the word, and coerced to a certain point of view which accomplishes our objectives. This can be done with weapons, with food, with television or perhaps by eliminating key leadership infrastructure with an EMP weapon and replacing it with our own. If we only offer someone certain anhilation in defeat and our only language is violence, they will have no other option than to fight to the end. There isn't any point in winning if we can't win with honor, unless you want to uplift tyranny.
I realize that the parent post is toungue in cheek to a certain degree, but it has been modded up to '5 insightful', which is absurd. Which leads me to believe that many people in this forum are:
A. On crack
B. Weak minded simpletons
C. Cattle who will consume whatever idiocy they are fed.
We could easily, permanently end the situation in Iraq. Sweep 500,000 troops through the country, shooting everyone they encounter. Or simply nuke it.
Whatever justification for the war in Iraq you accept, killing the whole population is not going to win it. The Iraqi people will not be "free" and Iraq will be producing no oil, if it is a nuclear waste land. The 500,000 troops thing is just silly too. Any country is ruled through individual fear. Iraq is no different. The military is always massively out numbered by the civilian population. If US troops start killing everyone, the whole population (20 million plus) would turn on them and slaughter them. If everyone is certain they are going to die they will fight. As it is the majority is scared of getting killed and so does nothing.
But I take your point, EMP weapons are not going to be much use against guerillas since they are unlikely to be using much electronics. However they are very useful in covert inforamtion warfare, such as knocking out TV transmitters etc. in neutral countries to impede the spread of information. Nowdays the US military is as interested in "managing" what its civilian population knows about a war as it is what the enemy does.
Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
Afghanistan US Fatalities