|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
Future War Charles R. Smith Energy Weapons and Micromachines Dominate Pentagon The U.S. military is preparing to introduce a new weapon utilizing the latest in nanotechnology. According to a Texas-based engineer, the U.S. is already testing a tiny aerial vehicle that is no more than 3.5 inches long and a quarter-inch in diameter. The miniature flyer was painted flat black, and appeared to have tiny feather-like fins. The remote-controlled vehicle flew silently at about 3 to 5 miles an hour and was unaffected by a light wind. The tiny aircraft appears to be the first prototype of a class of miniature vehicles that require no fuel. Several officials who are familiar with the project suggest that is powered and controlled by broadband radio-frequency (RF) energy beamed from a nearby source. Pentagon sources stated that the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has shown the military 15 very small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) under development. Five of these mini-aircraft are currently undergoing flight testing. One of the designs has been described as a "flapping" wing flyer similar to a small bird. The Energy Department has already openly demonstrated converting microwave beams into energy to power engines. Recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology – specifically, RF photonics, or the conversion of radio energy into light – have allowed U.S. military and intelligence agencies to begin developing tiny flying vehicles that can carry sensors, cameras and even small warheads.
Story Continues Below
High-Power Microwave Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force is planning on using intense microwave radiation as an advanced weapon for its F-22 jet fighter. Recent advances in microcircuit technology have led to the development of the AESA (advanced electronically scanned array) radar for the F-22. The AESA radar was intended to give the F-22 unmatched air-to-air combat ability to detect and target enemy warplanes long before they could detect the F-22. The AESA is powered by hundreds of microchip radar emitters stacked together into a large array antenna. The radar is so powerful that Pentagon officials are now describing it as an HPM or high-powered microwave beam weapon. The AESA radar has proven to be so adept and powerful that it can overwhelm, jam and even intercept enemy communications. The computer-controlled radar can use the latest information warfare spy algorithm to insert false data or plant a computer virus intended to bug and monitor the enemy communications.
The F-22 has also demonstrated the AESA radar can penetrate the sophisticated electronic guidance systems of a missile in flight and disable it. Pentagon engineers are testing the radar against a variety of missile threats, showing that the radar can burn out, or disable missile guidance systems. The performance of the AESA radar has been so impressive that Pentagon officials are investigating the possibility of building large phased array radar that could focus microwave energy on ballistic missile warheads. Researchers say that they can focus radar energy to disable enemy guidance and warhead electronics at ranges of over 62 miles. Adm. Timothy Keating, chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command, confirmed that the Pentagon is working on advanced high-power microwave weapons based on the AESA radar. Stopping the IED The U.S. Army is also working on high-power microwave weapons based on the AESA. Diehl BGT Defense has teamed with Lockheed Martin to field a Humvee mounted system designed to detonate land mines and improvised explosive devices (IED). The HPM weapon has already been tested at Yuma, Arizona, where it was able to detonate land mines at over 50 yards away. The Army is looking for a weapon that can detonate mines at ranges of over 100 yards. Diehl officials confirmed that the weapons are being designed to fill two primary functions: the land mines and explosive booby traps that U.S. and German forces are facing in Afghanistan and non-lethal attacks on soft targets such as airports, power distribution facilities and manufacturing plants. Diehl researchers noted that the weapon has already demonstrated the ability to stop cars and shut down radio and TV stations. However, officials are careful to point out that precise targeting is required. The microwave weapon has the ability to shut down or trip a nuclear power plant off-line, a situation that could result in a quick meltdown of the reactor core. Pentagon engineers have also demonstrated that a quick burst of high-power microwave energy is very effective for debugging at a site that needs to be secure from listening devices. New Lasers Military researchers are also preparing to field high-power laser systems on the battlefield. However, don't just think of the laser as a pencil-thin beam. The U.S. military is testing a laser that can focus and create plasma on the surface of a target. The plasma can be used to identify explosives and chemical and biological weapons. New lightweight lasers are planned for testing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The laser is designed to replace the conventional gun on the jet fighter, using energy drawn from the main engine to power the weapon. Many of these new weapons, such as the laser plasma system and high-power microwave project, seem the stuff of science fiction, but the fact remains that they are here and will soon be appearing on the battlefield. The U.S. Army is already restructuring its brigade combat teams to train and fight in this new form of energy warfare. The future is here. The question now is will we be prepared.
RADIO AND TV SCHEDULE Charles Smith will be on: The Jerry Hughes Show on Friday, 10/14/05, at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.cilamerica.com.
Editor's note:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Page 
Forward Page 
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2009 NewsMax.Com |