The silent missile that can destroy enemy electronics with microwave PULSES: Air Force confirms terrifying new weapon
- Named counter-electronics high-powered microwave advanced missile
- Weapon destroys electronic systems without hurting people or buildings
- Champ is now an 'operational system already in [the] tactical air force'
- Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range has been chosen as the delivery vehicle
From Ocean's Eleven to Star Trek, weapons that wipe out enemy electronics are a staple of science fiction films.
For
years, scientists have been attempting to create such a weapon as part
of Champ, or the Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced
Missile Project.
Now,
the US Air Force claims it has advanced the technology, and says it can
deploy it using the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff
Missile-Extended Range (JASSM).
Counter-Electronics High-Power Advanced Microwave Project (CHAMP)
For years, scientists have been
attempting to turn fantasy into reality by working on a system known as
Champ, or Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile
Project
According to Foxtrot Alpha, once integrated into JASSM, Champ will be a 'first day of war' standoff weapon.
Because
it can be launched by both bombers and fighters, Lockheed's Joint
Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, is an ideal platform for
Champ.
'The
capability is real … and the technology can be available today,' said
Major General Thomas Masiello, the Air Force Research Laboratory.
'That's an operational system already in our tactical air force'
In
2012, aircraft manufacturer Boeing successfully tested the weapon on a
one-hour flight during which it knocked out the computers of an entire
military compound.
During
Boeing's experiment, the missile flew low over the Utah Test and
Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to seven targets,
permanently shutting down their electronics.
Boeing said that the test was so successful even the camera recording it was disabled.
Although the project is shrouded in secrecy, experts believe the missile is equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon.
This
uses a super-powerful microwave oven to generate a concentrated beam of
energy which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, rendering
them useless before surge protectors have the chance to react.
The missile is equipped with an
electromagnetic pulse cannon. This uses a super-powerful microwave oven
to generate a concentrated beam of energy. The energy causes voltage
surges in electronic equipment, rendering them useless before surge
protectors have the chance to react
Keith
Coleman, Champ programme manager for Boeing's prototype arm Phantom
Works, claims the technology marked 'a new era in modern warfare'.
'In
the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's
electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or
aircraft arrive,' he said during the initial test.
However,
experts fear that the project could create an arms race, with countries
scrambling to build their own electromagnetic pulse weapons.
Professor
Trevor Taylor, Professorial Fellow at the Royal United Services
Institute, has previously said the Western world would be more
vulnerable attack because of its increased reliance on electronics.
'Should
the US be known to have developed such a technology to the production
stage, it would drive others to try to act similarly,' he said.
The US Air Force claims Champ has
found an ideal delivery vehicle; the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface
Standoff Missile-Extended Range (pictured)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory maps the
areas likely to be blacked out in the event of a high-altitude nuclear
EMP attack on the US
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