Microwave Weapon Being Developed

By Ron Grunsby
Editor

BAE Systems is planning to introduce a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon for counter-electronics attacks, Aviation Week reports. The weapon will be designed to shut off the engines of small boats from long range and could be fired from an Mk 38 gun mount on U.S. Navy surface ships.

John Perry, BAE Systems' manager of business development for advanced systems, told Aviation Week's David A. Fulghum that 10 to 30 small boats can be targeted with a fan of HPM energy. This fan of radiation reduces the need for pinpoint accuracy, and Perry said if you can disable 50% to 75% of a group, you can use other weapons on the rest.

BAE Systems spokeswoman Stephanie Bissell Serkhoshian told Spencer Ackerman of Wired.com that if it works, the weapon's technology could also be used against ships, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and missile payloads. Serkhoshian did not indicate when the weapon would be ready.

Several similar weapons have been pursued. Last year, Lockheed Martin received a $230,000 U.S. Air Force contract to define requirements for a weapon that uses high-power microwave energy beams instead of explosives to take out enemy electronic systems.

There is also the Active Denial System, also known as the "pain ray," primarily used for crowd control. In addition, BAE received $150,000 from the Air Force late last year to bombard computers with microwaves. This project was aimed at learning how to safeguard networks from an electromagnetic attack.

SOURCES: Aviation Week and Wired.com