This week, the US military proudly presented (publicly) for the first time, their newest non-lethal weapon to get rid of this pesky protester problem the military keeps running into when they invade other lands.
The Heat Ray or Microwave Cannon is formally and strangely called the “Active Denial System” (ADS) and its sole purpose is for crowd control.
The vehicle-mounted cannon combined with the power of electromagnetic radiation blasts a beam of heat that makes the target feel an intense waft of heat comparable to quickly opening an extremely hot oven, except reportedly with more pain. Unable to withstand the intensity and quickness of the heat, the beam makes people automatically run or jump out of the way.
From RT:ADS fires a high-powered beam of high-frequency millimeter waves at 95 GHz (a wavelength of 3.2 mm). Similar to the same way that a microwave oven heats food at 2.45GHz, the millimeter waves excite the water and fat molecules in the body, instantly heating them via dielectric heating and causing intense pain. While microwaves will penetrate into human tissue about 17mm (0.67"), the millimeter waves used in ADS only penetrate the top layers of skin, with most of the energy being absorbed within 0.4 mm (1/64").Video by USFORCESTV depicts testers getting an invisible waft of intense heat. Notice the girls giggling and squealing away from the pain? It's fun getting blasted by peace officers!
The DOD denies rumors that it spent $120 million on a mobile microwave ray. The Pentagon is reportedly set to create an airborne heat-ray companion possibly for use in knocking out enemy electronic instruments.
Some speculate the inspiration for the cannon came during a '90s US campaign in Somalia where soldiers felt threatened by gatherers with...sticks and stones. RT writes, “Some kind of weapon was needed to avoid victims among civilians and to protect soldiers at the same time. ”
The military looks at this cooked up invention as a win-win – lower injury risk than hosing crowds with pepper spray or rubber bullets. But the ray appears to have only been tested extensively at around 1,100 yards -- and does it account for those with pacemakers and other medical conditions affected by EMF? Don't worry, out of 11,000 people who actually agreed to be tested, only two received second-degree burns. It couldn't possibly suddenly turn lethal like those rubber bullets and tasers did.
How often do we use rubber bullets and pepper-spray abroad? With the undertones and the way the biological effects branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory is already trying to dispel any opposition to its health effects – it's likely that protesters here will be experience the heat wave soon.
This contraption, however, is really not meant to be a crowd pleaser.
While many will justify its use based on safety assurances, and others will argue against its use based on safety concerns, isn't that all really besides the point? Why is the military using heat cannons with the intent to disperse crowds? And the scary question – why is America getting so comfy with the idea?
The founding fathers weren't too keen on military practices mixing with those of the police. They would have plenty to say about turning military weaponry against their own, and for that matter, against people in foreign lands. Nor would they appreciate that the largest chunk of our burdensome taxes funding toys like heat cannons to disperse justifiably concerned citizens, here or abroad.
Maybe instead of spending millions of taxpayer dollars to create intimidating forceful crowd blasters, they should spend more time thinking about why people gather in the first place and redress those grievances. God forbid they should worry about actually protecting their brothers and sisters.
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