January27, 2007:
The U.S. Department of Defense has once more backed off from
deploying its microwave ADS (Active Defense system). Originally set for
deployment two years ago, the plan now is to continue testing the device, and
put into service in 2010, or later, or never. The problem is that non-lethal
weapons are not absolutely non-lethal, they are less lethal. The Department of
Defense is afraid of the bad press they would get if the ADS were used, whether
people died or not.
The
ADS is a non-lethal weapon that looks like a radar dish. The ADS "radar dish"
projects a "burn ray" that is about four feet in diameter. It is effective in
fog, smoke and rain. When pointed at people and turned on, it creates a burning
sensation on the skin of its victims, causing them to want to leave the area,
or at least greatly distracts them. The microwave weapon has a range of about
500 meters. ADS is carried on a hummer or Stryker, along with a machine-gun and
other non-lethal weapons. The proposed ROE (Rules of Engagement) for ADS are
that anyone who keeps coming after getting hit with microwave is assumed to
have evil intent, and will be killed. The microwave is believed to be
particularly useful for terrorists who hide in crowds of women and children,
using the human shields to get close enough to make an attack. This has been
encountered in Somalia and Iraq.
Meanwhile,
a new, smaller, version, called Silent Guardian, with a range of about 250
meters, has also been developed and offered for use defending vital targets
(like nuclear power plants) against terrorists. The manufacturer is also
pitching the Silent Guardian to the navy (for ship protection), the State
Department (for embassy protection) and organizations like the border patrol,
or anyone looking for a non-lethal way to quickly disperse crowds.
Deployment
of ADS has been delayed for years because of concerns about how non-lethal it
really is. ADS has been fired, in tests, over 2,500 times. Many of these
firings were against human volunteers, and the device performed as predicted,
without any permanent damage. But generations of exposure to lurid science
fiction descriptions of "death rays" has made the defense bureaucrats anxious
over the negative public relations potential if something like ADS was actually
used. From a publicity perspective, using more lethal "non-lethal-weapons" is
preferable to deploying something safer, but that could be described, however
incorrectly, as a "death ray."