Monday, 26 February 2001 21:14 (ET)

New non-lethal energy weapon heats skin

By KELLY HEARN, UPI Technology Writer

 WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The Marine Corps is developing a non-lethal

weapon that uses electromagnetic energy to heat but not permanently burn

human skin. The weapon could help soldiers counter terrorism threats,

control unruly crowds and defend airfields and ships.

 Experts confirmed it was the first time the military had designed a

so-called "directed energy weapon" for use against human targets.

 The weapon concentrates energy into a beam of micro-millimeter waves that

penetrate clothes to rapidly heat moisture particles in the outermost layer

of flesh without going deep enough to damage organs. The device reportedly

causes no permanent damage to the body or to electronic devices such as

pacemakers.

 Dubbed the Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System, the weapon was revealed

in a story published first in the Marine Corps Times Monday.

 Officials at the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate in Quantico, Va.

reportedly planned to show the classified system to top generals in April.

But Monday's story scuttled those plans and sent officials scrambling to

contain a possible public relations fiasco.

 A Marine spokesmen would not comment on the system, saying only that

subject specialists would be available for interviews later this week.

 Though detailed information about the weapon's design remain classified,

the story stated that the weapon would heat a target's skin to approximately

130 degrees Fahrenheit in about two seconds. Humans start to feel pain at

113 degrees. The report went on to say that soldiers could fire the weapon

from distances exceeding 750 meters (2,250 feet) from their target -- a

range that would allow them to remain outside the reach of most small arms

fire. The weapon could be mounted atop a military vehicle or on an aircraft.

 Defense experts told United Press International the Marines especially

have sought new ways to non-lethally confront large, hostile crowds.  Among

other things, the Department of Defense has looked to lasers, teargas and

rubber bullets for less-than-lethal impact. But these have either proven

ineffective or have attracted consternation from human rights groups.

 "Unlike the other three branches, the Marines often are in situations

where there are lots of innocent bystanders, where they have to control an

unruly mob," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a non-profit

policy research firm in Alexandria, Va. "Tear gas and rubber bullets just

have not been effective, so they've want something more lethal than those

and less lethal than an M16. Whether they have found that here remains to be

seen."

 "One of the fears is that there will be a misapplication of this kind of

technology, particularly in terms of civilian use," said Chris Hellman, a

senior analyst for the Center for Defense Information, a Washington

D.C.-based independent research group that monitors military planning and

policy. "Clearly we've seen military combat weaponry migrate to the civil

sector. Just walk past any Swat Team and you see what is basically an army

unit," he told UPI.

 The article quoted an official saying that human subjects had been exposed

to the beams more than 6,000 times under laboratory conditions. Furthermore,

military researchers had completed a study, which has not been released, on

the long-term health effects of exposure.

 "This puts a non-lethal arrow in quiver of commanders," said Ron Madrid,

former Marine and an expert on non-lethal weaponry at the University of

Pennsylvania. "It provides decision makers with options. You can guarantee

that the Marines were excruciatingly detailed in building in technological

limiters to keep the system from having a lethal effect,"

 Retired Major General William L. Nash, the former commanding general of

the 1st Armored Division, told UPI the device will inevitably create a race

to build counter weapons. "The good news is the weapon is non-lethal but the

bad news is that for every weapon there is bound to be a counter weapon," he

said. "I can imagine someone trying to develop a polymer based shield

against this, for example."

 The Defense Department spent nearly $40 million over 10 years to develop

the technology, said the Marine Corps Times report.  The Air Force

co-sponsored the project, the story said, doing much of the research and

development.

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Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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