Tech TV Live Washington December 24, 2001
Pentagon Continues Research in Nonlethal Weapons
By Peter Barnes
Dec. 24 - As the war continues in Afghanistan, the Pentagon is working on a range of new weapons that disable enemy soldiers, rather than killing them.
It's part of a program the Defense Department started in 1996 to develop so-called "nonlethal weapons." Some of the devices use new technologies, from lasers to electromagnetic energy beams.
One product of the Pentagon's research is the "Laser Dazzler," which emits low-power green laser flashes 20 times per second. To the human eye it is 10,000 times brighter than normal light, and it can temporarily blind and disable a person in an instant.
"You have five senses, plus your ability to think and your ability to move. I would suggest that if I could overcome one, why stop there? Let's go for two, three, or four," said Colonel George Fenton, who is part of the Pentagon's nonlethal weapons program.
"If I can overcome any of those senses, any of those seven I just named to you, I can take you from an offensive footing to a defense posture. Once I have you in a defensive posture, you have created time for me to better assess the situation and appropriately react," said Col. Fenton. "You've bought time for me to be able to consciously make a decision to go lethal or do something [else]."
In January, after three years of research, the manufacturer, l-E Technologies in Connecticut, will put the Laser Dazzler into commercial production for sale to police and the military.
Microwaves and Sting Balls, Too
It's just one of dozens of devices the Pentagon is researching - and using even now - to give commanders options in risky conditions, such as when enemy fighters blend in with civilian crowds, or when unruly civilians gather and appear ready to riot.
The Pentagon is spending more than $30 million a year researching and developing nonlethal weapons - dozens of types of them, according to a Defense Department report. Near the top of the list is the "millimeter wave projector," which has been undergoing tests on volunteers in New Mexico.
The device transmits a narrow beam of electromagnetic energy - similar to microwaves - that rapidly heats up the surface layer of the skin and prompts targets to flee. The system, which could be mounted on trucks, is designed to repel adversaries at long range.
"We haven't necessarily weaponized it yet - hardened it for military use - but we have been able to demonstrate under operational field conditions that this capability is able to put a field of energy down range, beyond effective enemy small arms range," Fenton said.
Colonel Fenton and others are pushing research on a new laser for military aircraft with enough power to melt the controls of a Scud missile from the air if it's parked next to a school or hospital.
Other devices under review include "sonic blasters," which emit disabling loud sounds, stinging pepper balls, and new versions of stun grenades and Tasers such as those used by police that disable targets with a jolt of electricity.
But the Pentagon has to be careful.
International treaties forbid war technologies that could permanently blind, which limits the use of laser devices, and some people worry that the devices could cause permanent injury, even death.
"The problem that all of these less-than-lethal technologies have had is that there is a fine line [between] being ineffective and being lethal," John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org told TechTV.
The Pentagon says it complies with all international laws on weapons use and carefully tests nonlethal devices to make sure they stay that way.
The Pentagon won't comment on whether it has used any of its nonlethal technologies in the war in Afghanistan.
Copyright 2001 TechTV, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
