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US Deploys 'Heat-Ray' In Afghanistan

Koreantoast writes "The United States military has deployed Raytheon's newly developed Active Denial System (ADS), a millimeter-wave, 'non-lethal' heat-ray, to Afghanistan. The weapon generates a 'burning sensation' that is supposedly harmless, with the military claiming that the chance of injury is at less than 0.1%; numerous volunteers including reporters over the last several years have experienced its effects during various trials and demonstrations. While US military spokesperson Lt. Col. John Dorrian states that the weapon has not yet been operationally used, the tense situation in theater will ensure its usage soon enough. Proponents of ADS believe the system may help limit civilian deaths in counterinsurgency operations and provide new, safer ways to disperse crowds and control riots, but opponents fear that the system's long-term effects are not fully known and that the device may even be used for torture. Regardless, if ADS is successful in the field, we'll probably see this mobile microwave at your next local protest or riot."

3 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. In the US in 3, 2, 1 ... by AHuxley · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSMyY3_dmrM
    Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) used in Pittsburgh.
    Expect the heat-ray very soon.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  2. Re:"Put your hand in the box." by __aaxtnf2500 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ever felt one of those sensory illusion devices that has a stack of parallel tubes with alternating hot and cold lines? The hot lines are not enough to burn you, but when you put your skin across the stack, your heat sensing system interprets the feeling as intense burning. Closest thing I ever felt to the black box.

  3. Re:I'm a bit concerned... by Marcika · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Tin foil hats will have to be outlawed, like bulletproof vests.

    Only criminals need tinfoil hats. You ain't no CRIMINAL, is you?

    You might mean it as a joke, but the Germans are a step ahead of you here -- anything that can serve to protect you against police violence in a protest has already been outlawed for the last twenty years as a "protective weapon" (the law is 17a of the Versammlungsgesetz).

    They have outlawed padded clothing that protects against beatings, mouthguards that protect against police knocking your teeth out, masks that protect against teargas and ballistic vests that make it harder to maim you from a distance. Outlawing tin foil hats is the logical next step.