Guest guest Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 US 'could test electronic bomb on Iraqis' Military analysts predict US forces will test a new electronic bomb during the expected invasion of Iraq - designed to render enemies blind, deaf and mute. The highly classified bomb creates a brief pulse of microwaves powerful enough to fry computers, blind radar, silence radios, trigger power outages and disable the electronic ignitions in vehicles and aircraft. Loren Thompson, a defence analyst at the Lexington Institute think-tank, said: "They would be useful against any adversary that is dependent on electronic systems." Officially, the Pentagon does not acknowledge the weapon's existence. Asked about it at news conference General Tommy Franks said: "I can't talk to you about that because I don't know anything about it." However, military analysts say a number of unclassified documents suggest that such a device is ready for the battlefield. Thompson said: "There's been a lot of discussion behind closed doors in the Pentagon and in the trade press that these things are now being tested." According to a 2000 report by Air Force Colonel Elaine M Walling, scientists at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico have created microwave sources that generate up to 10 times the amount of energy that the giant Hoover Dam produces in a day. Such powerful pulses can incapacitate electronic equipment without damaging buildings or harming people, making them an attractive weapon whenever civilian casualties are a concern. In laboratory tests, microwave pulses can melt silicon chips, pushing their circuits far beyond their capacity to conduct electricity. But on the battlefield, even the most impressive E-bomb's effects rapidly diminish with distance. Although E-bombs' capabilities are classified, military analysts believe their range is a few hundred yards at most. The bombs' effects are also hard to predict, analysts say. The surge of electricity produced could go directly to the nearest bank of military supercomputers, or just as easily be shunted harmlessly into the ground. Thompson said: "The effects are hard to focus. The moment the energy is absorbed into wiring or other electrically conductive material, you don't know where it's going to go." © Associated Press Story filed: 18:30 Wednesday 19th March 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 Military analysts predict US forces will test a new electronic bomb during the expected invasion of Iraq - designed to render enemies blind, deaf and mute. Just to emphasize that deaf dumb and mute refer to electronic communication systems and not humans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 http://www.indiatimes.com/it/iraq/iraq9.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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