Army Orders Pain Ray Trucks; New Report Shows 'Potential for Death'

[G_j]

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/army-ordering-p.html

Army Orders Pain Ray Trucks; New Report Shows 'Potential for Death'
By David Hambling October 10, 2008 | 11:17:00

After years of testing, the Active Denial System -- the pain ray which drives off rioters with a microwave-like beam -- could finally have its day. The Army is buying five of the truck-mounted systems for $25 million. But the energy weapon may face new hurdles, before it's shipped off to the battlefield; a new report details how the supposedly non-lethal blaster could be turned into a flesh-frying killer.

The contract for the pain ray trucks is "expected to be awarded by year's end," Aviation Week notes. "A year after the contract is signed, the combination vehicle/weapons will start be fielded at the rate of one per month."

It's been a very long time coming. As we've previously reported, there have been calls to deploy the Active Denial System in Iraq going back to 2004. But it's always been delayed for legal, political, and public relations reasons. Anything that might be condemned as torture is political dynamite.

Interestingly, the version being bought is not the full-size "Version 2," but a containerized system known as Silent Guardian, which Raytheon have been trying to sell for some time. They describe Silent Guardian as "roughly 1/3 the size and power of the other Active Denial Systems," and quote it's range as "greater than 250 meters." The larger system has a range somewhere in excess of 700 meters.
Silent Guardian weighs a shade over 10,000 pounds all up, and will be mounted on an "armored ruggedized HEMTT ."

The announcement arrives on the same day as a new report from less-lethal weapons expert Dr. Jürgen Altmann that analyzes the physics of several directed energy weapons, including Active Denial, the Advanced Tactical Laser (used as a non-lethal weapon), the Pulsed Energy Projectile (a.k.a. "Maximum Pain" laser) and the Long Range Acoustic Device (a.k.a. "Acoustic Blaster").

Dr. Altmann describes the Active Denial beam in some detail, noting that it will not be completely uniform; anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the center will experience more heating than someone at the edge. And perhaps more significant is his thorough analysis of the heating it produces -- and the cumulative effect if the target does not have the chance to cool down between exposures. In U.S. military tests, a fifteen-second delay between exposures was strictly observed; this may not happen when the ADS is used for real.

...more..

[Tutonic]

1. What in the name of humanity is this? Why would even a person

with half his brain scooped out be a party to designing, building or using a flesh frying weapon. Are we the animals? We need to go all go to Hell if we allow this to happen.

[awoke_in_2003]

21. "Are we the animals?"

Yes, that is what we have become :(

[shanti]

28. probably the same weapon that bob woodward discussed on maher

a couple of weeks ago, and wouldn't go into detail about. and yes, he was dead serious.

[billyoc]

2. I predict Death by Large Diet Coke for those Rube Goldberg contraptions.

[importedyakmeat]

10. nice....fry us like jimmy dean sausages will they?....

i am 40 years old....i just purchased my first two fire arms....an AK-47, machined, not stamped, with a pinned barrel, and a glock 9mm.
i've been a shooter most of my life, but never bought one of my own....but it looks to me over the past 5 years, our govt. has put US as THEIR enemy, changed the meaning of words to meet their lies, and are openly, and aggressively sucking the wealth from the continent, and breaking the economy while trying to take away our rights so when we wake up, and want blood, we will wake up in FEMA camps

i got the glock for its ability to be made into a full auto, and i chose the AK over the m-16 for one reason, well, a few reasons....i can stash the ak in the sewer, and pull it out, and it is battle ready. not so with the m-16.
The m-16 has no stopping power, but has a fast round...the AK has a sound like no other, and blows limbs clean off....constitution in my back pocket, i will prosper.
i would never want to fire on ANYBODY, however, that being said, the second amendment allows me to defend my self, while exercising my first amendment rights.... there is no place in the text of the Constitution that sais i can only use one right at a time.....start pointing that thing at me,or mine, and we have a real problem.
after i spend 10 or 15 years in jail, for "terrorism", i will be acquitted.

[awoke_in_2003]

22. Welcome to DU

you are about to get landslided about the guns, try to ignore it. What some don't understand is that this country is going to be subjected to this type of shit eventually, especially with the way our police are police are given more and more power. One day we may be forced to fight back. Where did you get the AK by the way?

[Laelth]

26. Welcome to DU!

:dem:

-Laelth

[Irish Girl]

27. I used to be solidly against guns ...

Until I realized that responsible, gun-carrying Americans may be our only form of protection against the type of lunacy our government has deteriorated into.

Welcome to DU.

:patriot:

[salguine]

32. Acquittal would be nice. Unfortunately they no longer have to charge you

with terrorism, or indeed with anything at all, and they don't have to let you out. In 15 years or ever.

[1]

33. "i got the glock for its ability to be made into a full auto"

a full auto pistol? that is illegal, you know that right?

even if you could, all that would mean is that you would get to shoot 12-15 of those rounds straight up into the air.

well, welcome rambo...

[salguine]

36. Illegal? So's a military coup.

[1]

37. my post was about the idiocy of a full auto pistol...

and about the fact that we respect the rules of law when we post here.

i don't know how to respond to the crazy...

[illuminaughty]

34. Not gonna get flamed by me about guns

It's the same mind set as my friends and I are accepting. Especially given the events of the last few weeks. You will hear a lot of people here scoff at the Fema Camp scenario, but it is becoming clearer and clearer that THEY have plans for us. I don't give a fuck how tin foil hat that sounds..

I don't even kill bugs, but more and more of us are planning to be prepared. (Welcome to DU)

[TheDebbieDee]

3. Ship these pain ray units to the battlefield, my a$$!

They will keep some of these fuckers around to use at protest rallies that will occur if they try to steal another election from us Dems!

[shadowknows69]

4. They will be deployed with the "Homeland Brigade" Bush just started

The press release said they would be using non-lethal weaponry for crowd control. I guarantee that includes this thing.

[Junkdrawer]

6. You betcha... n/t

[Canuckistanian]

7. I can see these things enraging crowds, not subduing them

They are of no use on a battlefield. There needs to be a direct line of sight and the large antenna makes a wonderful target.

If they start deploying these monstrosities in America against citizens, it's time to bring back the venerable Molotov cocktail.

[dysfunctional press]

30. exactly. i don't see these things as being particularly effective in actual use.

time will tell.

[shadowknows69]

38. Have you guys seen the video tests of it?

It was looking pretty effective in those. Might be easy to flank though. Or maybe some kind of armor could indeed stop it.

[dysfunctional press]

41. with a large and unruly mob, it might just incite them further...

it seems like it would be a fairly easy target for an rpg.

as far as armor is concerned- if there are materials that are impervious to it or reflect the energy- yes, they'll be found and exploited.

[Junkdrawer]

5. Remember: They are as afraid of us as we are of them...

When push comes to shove, or when privilege turns to hunger, there's hundreds of millions of "us" and, what, tens of thousands?? of "them".

[Leopolds Ghost]

17. Yep.

[salguine]

31. "Millions of us" doesn't comfort me a whole hell of a lot. We live among millions

of stupid fucking people who'll chant "USA! USA!" even as they're being herded into the gas chambers.

[Lint Head]

8. Nothing like fascist corporations creating better ways to kill human beings.

The weapons industry has taken ancient mans killer instinct into the 21st century. When will modern man evolve to point of realization that killing each other is an animal concept. If Christians believe people are not animals but special beings
They need to stop acting like animals.
:dem:

[Downtown Hound]

9. No words

This device is simply sick. May those who invented it and those who deploy it receive their special place in hell.

[Cid_B]

13. Better than being shot I guess...

[G_j]

18. and having one eye poked out is better

than having both poked out.

point?

[ihavenobias]

11. Wow n/t

[MadrasT]

12. No, no, no, no, NO!

This is completely unacceptable. :wtf:

[Orrex]

14. I'm comforted to know that the Army will be in charge of this weapon

And not some murderous band of sadistic torturers.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Yeah.

:silly:

[Baldameer]

19. If we don our tinfoil hats will that protect us?

Just wondering...

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. You could try it.

:evilgrin:

[awoke_in_2003]

24. No...

but it will create a wonderful spark show :)

[tblue37]

15. Think about how thug-cops use Tasers. Not once or twice, but

repeatedly, obviously using them to torture those who have pissed them off. They will use the pain ray the same way, and just like with Tasers, they will kill their victims.

[Edweird]

20. "Non-lethal" is often a misnomer. "Less lethal" is usually the correct term.

Tasers, rubber bullets, bean bags, batons and such are by no means "non-lethal". They are "less lethal" than traditional firearms.

[Orrex]

29. Well, in fairness...

Most of the times they use "non-lethal" weapons to flush people out of hiding, whereupon the riot squads (or whoever) open fire on the disoriented and sometimes incapacitated protestors (or whomever).

:sarcasm:

[Edweird]

39. Not sure what you meant.

Care to explain?

[Orrex]

40. Sure

I can't cite links off the top of my head, but if you really want some I'll go looking.

But I've read numerous accounts of "non-lethal" crowd-dispersing devices that are used to flush opponents from a building, and then these opponents are gunned down as they rush to exit the building. I believe that the Discovery Channel sometimes runs a program on non-lethal weapons, and this tactic is discussed there.

Also, I've read accounts of someone getting pepper-sprayed and then beaten while he's incapacitated and unable to defend himself.


So my point was that even if "non-lethal" weapons truly are non-lethal, in practice they've been used in conjunction with much more conventional lethal weapons, which grossly perverts even the most idealistic use of non-lethals.

I realize that the OP was complaining (rightly) that "non-lethal" is a misnomer, and I'm not disputing that; instead, I meant to discuss further lethal ramifications of their use.

[blues90]

25. When will it ever end?

I am so sick and drained of people designing and building new weapons.

I get the sense that killing and wars will just never end if this sort of insanity keeps on going on.

Everything appears to be fear driven. Why not instead invent something that removes the cause and concern for fear?

[Dem2theMax]

35. It's just about time to give the planet back to the animals.

The humans make me sick.

Is there ANY humanity left?

I repeat, the humans make me sick.