USMC Ray Gun

    By Frank Morales

    "The Marine Corps is on the verge of unveiling perhaps the biggest
    breakthrough in weapons technology since the atomic bomb: a
    nonlethal weapon that fires directed energy at human targets."

    "I have nothing to hide. This is a good news story. Our American
    public needs to understand that we have done our homework." - Col.
    George Fenton, Director, Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate,
    Department of Defense

    Marine Corps Times, March 5, 2001 (1)

    In a neatly calculated "unveiling" of weapons designed for social
    control, for use against civilians and the suppression of dissent,
    the Pentagon has gone "transparent" with the latest in electronic
    weapons technology which targets people. At a selective press
    briefing for congressional and military leaders this past March
    1st, Pentagon officials stated they were "developing a new
    non-lethal weapon which uses electromagnetic energy to cause a
    burning sensation on the skin…" (Reuters, 3/1/01) The "biggest
    breakthrough in weapons technology since the atomic bomb" is none
    other than the so-called "Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System" or
    VMADS. According to the March 5th issue of the Marine Corps Times,
    (cited above) in an article entitled, "The People Zapper: This new
    secret weapon doesn't kill, but it sure does burn", the "VMADS
    system is the first non-lethal, directed energy weapon designed
    specifically for use against humans." The weapon "focuses energy
    into a beam of micromillimeter waves designed to stop an individual
    in his tracks." Powered by electricity, it would ultimately "be
    powered by the modified Humvee on which it would be mounted."

    According to the Marine Corps Times report, the projected energy
    "which falls near microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum,
    causes the moisture in a person's skin to heat up rapidly, creating
    a burning sensation, similar to a hot light bulb pressed against
    one's flesh." The microwaves, "whose exact length, frequency and
    amplitude are classified, cause water molecules in the skin cells
    to vibrate." Presumably, "when used as directed - that is, briefly
    - the weapon causes no long-term problems". Meanwhile, "the amount
    of time the weapon must be trained on an individual to cause
    permanent damage or death is classified." Studies of long-term
    effects of "the VMADS system" have been completed, according to the
    report, but "the findings have not been released publicly." It
    should be noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff major policy
    directive in the area of non-lethal weapons, DoD Directive 3000.3,
    which is currently under revision, calls for these weapons to have
    a built-in "rheostatic" (ie. "tunable") capability.

    The Marine report states that, "the need for a nonlethal means for
    stopping an aggressor is a direct response to today's world of
    unknown enemies…where small numbers of troops find themselves
    facing off against large crowds of civilians." And while "weapons
    that fire lasers, electricity and sound waves have been in
    development for years", "not since the advent of gun-powder and the
    splitting of the atom have armies seen such a leap in technology."
    The range of the electromagnetic weapon "remains classified" but
    project officials "expect it will exceed 750 meters" (2250')
    allowing the Marines to "engage a crowd from afar, directing
    two-second bursts of energy without risk of being overcome by the
    mob." The "mob", the target of the directed beam, cooking in 130
    degree heat, "would immediately experience intense pain, causing
    confusion and driving the crowd to disperse." And while "the
    intention is not to burn the skin", "those hit by the beam begin to
    feel intense heat" during "potential applications" which include
    "urban operations." And finally, while "the Defense Department has
    spent nearly $40 million over ten years to develop the
    technology...budget predictions from last year...show another $26
    million could be needed for development over the next five years."
    The primary contractor for the current VMADS $16 million project is
    Raytheon Missile Systems.

    Deeper Unveiling Turns out that while the Marines expect to be
    microwaving people, it was the Air Force that developed the
    "technology" in the first place. On February 22, 2001 the United
    States Air Force Research Laboratory, located at Kirtland Air Force
    Base, New Mexico, issued it's own news release announcing that "a
    breakthrough technology designed to project an energy beam that
    drives away adversaries without injuring them, is now undergoing
    advanced testing." (2) According to the Air Force, the projected
    energy "beam" travels "at the speed of light" and penetrates "1/64
    of a inch into the skin", rapidly heating up the skin's surface,
    causing the "subject", within seconds, to "feel pain that stops
    when the transmitter is shut off or when the subject moves out of
    the beam." According to the news release, the weapon was developed
    by two Air Force Research Laboratory teams: one from it's Directed
    Energy Directorate at Kirtland, the other from it's Human
    Effectiveness Directorate, located at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
    The learned team leaders, Lt. Col.Chuck Beason and Dr. Kirk Hackett
    noted, in reference to the new EM weapon, that "the effect exploits
    a natural defense mechanism - pain - that has evolved to protect
    the human body from damage." The Air Force Research Laboratory -
    Directed Energy Directorate, in addition to developing "high
    powered electromagnetic weapons and countermeasures" also develops
    "moderate and high power laser devices". (3) In fact, recently
    (2/212/01), the public affairs office of the Airborne Laser System
    Program Office, located at Kirtland, AFB, announced that "Lockheed
    Martin Space Systems will open an $8 million, 16,000 square-foot
    optical test center…designed to analyze the beam guidance system
    for the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Laser, the world's first combat
    aircraft armed with a directed energy weapon." (4) Meanwhile, the
    Space Vehicles Directorate - Air Force Research Laboratory,
    "develops technologies to support evolving warfighter requirements
    to control and exploit space." (5) This past November, Kirtland AFB
    was the sight of the 3rd Annual Directed Energy Symposium entitled,
    Directed Energy for the 21st Century, presented by the Directed
    Energy Professional Association, in cooperation with the Office of
    the Secretary of Defense. (6)

    The VMADS system is currently being tested in field conditions by
    the Air Force at Kirtland, AFB. At the New Mexico site, "they are
    using a transmitter that sends a narrow beam of energy to a test
    subject hundreds of yards away." It is reassuring to note that "all
    testing is being conducted with strict observance of the
    procedures, laws and regulations governing animal and human
    experimentation". In addition, "the tests have been reviewed and
    approved by the Air Force Surgeon General's Office and are
    conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human
    Effectiveness Directorate." Finally, "although testing is expected
    to continue in this summer (2001), officials have begun examining
    the technology for use on a vehicle-mounted version. Future
    versions might also be used onboard planes and ships." (7)

    Col. George Fenton, director of the US Marine operated NLW program
    firmly believes in the safety of this "revolutionary force
    protection technology." He recently stated that "humans have been
    exposed more than 6,000 times in testing, all inside the laboratory
    (and that) no long term effects have been detected." Given that
    track record, Fenton believes that "the technology could move into
    the acquisition phase of making a prototype as soon as this summer
    (2001), when the project would be taken over by the Air Force's
    Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., near
    Boston." (8)

    Finally, on-cue the New York Times joined in on the "unveiling",
    heralding "what some military officials hope will become the rubber
    bullet of the 21st century: a weapon that uses electromagnetic
    waves to disperse crowds without killing, maiming or, military
    officials say, even injuring anyone slightly." (9) Not even
    slightly! After all, notes the Times, they are only "intended to
    influence motivational behavior." According to free lance
    writer/researcher David Guyatt, "less than lethal anti-personnel
    weapons, especially some classes of EM weapons that are viewed as
    having a capability to remotely modify behavior or attack higher
    functions, are seen in some influential quarters as being the ideal
    remedy for future domestic disturbances...", wherein, the forces of
    repression will target the opposition, "armed with innovative
    technological weapons that do not necessarily kill but which render
    disenfranchised segments of society physically inactive,
    emotionally stupefied and incapable of meaningful thought…" (10)

    Sound farfetched? Back in 1986, Marine Corps Captain Paul E. Tyler,
    author of an influential study entitled, "The Electromagnetic
    Spectrum in Low-Intensity Conflict" (11) was already making the
    point that "the potential applications of artificial
    electromagnetic fields are wide ranging and can be used in many
    military or quasi - military situations" including "crowd control".
    At that time he pointed out that although scientists hadn't
    identified electromagnetism for what it really was until the
    eighteenth century, "the results of many studies that have been
    published in the last few years indicate that specific biological
    effects can be achieved by controlling the various parameters of
    the electromagnetic (EM) field." And further, "many of the clinical
    effects of electromagnetic radiation (have) been reported in the
    literature to induce or enhance the following effects
    (including)…electroanesthesia…behavior modification in animals,
    altered electroencephalograms in animals and humans, altered brain
    morphology in animals, altered firing of neuronal cells."

    According to Capt.Tyler, "a 1982 Air Force review of biotechnology
    had this to say: Currently available data allow the projection that
    specially generated radio frequency radiation (RFR) fields may pose
    powerful and revolutionary antipersonnel military threats.
    Electroshock therapy indicates the ability of induced electric
    current to completely interrupt mental functioning for short
    periods of time, to obtain cognition for longer periods and to
    restructure emotional response over prolonged intervals." Further,
    "experience with electroshock therapy, RFR experiments and the
    increasing understanding of the brain as an electrically mediated
    organ suggested the serious probability that impressed
    electromagnetic fields can be disruptive to purposeful behavior and
    may be capable of directing and or interrogating such behavior",
    while "the passage of approximately 100 milliamperes through the
    myocardium can lead to cardiac standstill and death, again pointing
    to a speed-of-light weapons effect."

         1.. Marine Corps Times, "The People Zapper: This new secret weapon
    doesn't kill, but it sure does burn", C. Mark Brinkley, March 5, 2001,
    pg.10.
         2.. United States Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, News
    Release, Office of Public Affairs, "New Technology Drives Away Adversaries",
    February 22, 2001. www.de.afrl.af.mil/pa/releases/2001/01-09.html
         c.. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico,
    Directorate descriptions,
    www.afrl.af.mil/techconn/directorate_descriptions.htm
         d.. United States Air Force, Airborne Laser System Program Office,
    Office of Public Affairs, "Airborne Laser Optical Facility Opens", February
    21, 2001. www.de.afrl.af.mil/pa/releases/2001/01-06.html
         e.. Air Force Research Laboratory, Directorate descriptions (above)
         f.. Directed Energy for the 21st Century, 3rd Annual Directed Energy
    Symposium, Preliminary Program and Registration, Kirtland Air Force Base,
    White Sands Missile Range, 30 October - 3 November 2000.
         g.. Air Force Research Laboratory, "New technology Drives Away
    Adversaries" 2/22/01 (above)
         h.. Marine Corps Times, 3/5/01 (above)
         i.. New York Times, "Pentagon Unveils Plans for a New Crowd-Dispersal
    Weapon", James Dao, March 2, 2001.
         j.. David G. Guyatt, "Some Aspects of Antipersonnel Electromagnetic
    Weapons", February 1996. www.adacomp.net/~mcherney/aspects.html
         k.. Capt. Paul E. Tyler, MC, USN, "The Electromagnetic Spectrum in
    Low-Intensity Conflict", in, LtCol. David J. Dean, USAF, Editor,
    Low-Intensity Conflict and Modern Technology, Air University Press, Alabama,
    June 1986. www.adacomp.net/~mcherney/mn142a.htm