Electromagnetic weapons

Frying tonight

Warfare is changing as weapons that destroy electronics, not people, are deployed on the field of battle

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Readers' comments



The idea of a ray gun could alter all the present concepts of war. But I don't agree with the statement that it will reduce fatalities in soldiers of war. People die in war and that's the way its always gonna be. That's the way its been since the start of time.


I think all of this is a response to the knowledge that a conventional World War 3 would kill us all because too many countries have enough firepower to wipe out huge chunks of the planet. For this reason we will hopefully never end up fighting China or Russia again, however these non-life-threatening weapons that damage infrastructure and electronic systems could be just as effective in war without the loss of human life. If perfected on a large scale these weapons have the potential to wipe out the electronic capabilities that all developed countries are dependent upon. Usage would be like sending a country back in time technologically and that would undoubtedly be an effective weapon, however it would have steep consequences for the entire world not just the country being attacked since we are all connected in this digital world we now live in.


As technology changes and becomes more advanced, so does war. This article points out that many of the new technologies and discoveries being made are finding their way into many areas, including this one. Additionally, as the weapons themselves become more and more advanced and capable, the defense options against them will too. This article also explores some of those important technologies too. These are increasingly important in a time when safety is such an important part of politics and life. With out advancing defense technologies the more capable weapons and attack methods would make the world a very dangerous and unpredictable place to live.


I first found out about weapons like these in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. And while the game is highly fictitious electromagnetic weapons were used to disable enemy electronics. In the game the radar screen went blank and you were really left with nothing to tell you where the enemy was. These types of weapons used in real life would be highly advantageous. Blacking out the enemy is a crucial part in war.


Wow. It is crazy to take a step back and think about where we are with technology these days. Back in the day when people use to use swords and arrows to fight each other. Now with electromagnetic weapons, we have missiles that can be sent from anywhere to anyone else else in the world and drop it on a nickle at the destination.


The world of warfare has dramatically changed in the last hundred years. Not very long ago wars were fought by a bunch of men marching in straight lines at each other. Now wars are faught with intelligence. Whoever has the better technology wins wars these days. It's impossible to defeat an enemy who can bomb you by pushing a few buttons. So naturally in these new wars the goal is take out the other's intel. There are many ways to do this. You can always resort to the old fashion way of blowing things up, but there is a better way that you can do it without taking a single casualty. In EMP or elctromagnetic pulse can completely take out an enemy's electronics which is the equivalent to being blind in this day and age. If an enemy can take out its opposition's technology the victory is all but won, and this is how wars are faught now.


This is way cool! The world we live in is so technologically dependent that weapons like this could cause insane amounts of havoc. Imagine taking a predator drone equipped with an electromagnetic weapon and flying it over enemy command centers and frying all their electronics. The enemy would be crippled and there wouldn't any human lives lost! Having this kind of weaponry readily available would be a huge benefit to the US and change the way we fight wars.


This article is talking about the new age of technology coming and the new way we are about to be fighting wars. It won't be focused on manslaughter, or how many people we can kill. It will be about destroying their weapons so in the end the only thing the enemy can do is surrender. With each century new technologies are invented so this idea is just the beginning of newer things. Right now, we are in a technology era. New things are being created and invented all the time right now, it should be of no surprise that we are getting something like this for the military.


warfare is changing in our lives right now. the biggest thing in the wars that are going on now are drones. drones are basically big remote control planes that have cameras, bombs, or both. warfare is changing. I believe this will change the occurrence of war in today's world and also the length of war when it happens to a much shorter time.


This is mind blowing! I've always expected these types of weapons to be a fantasy, but now they are becoming a reality. These electromagnetic weapons will be an extreme improvement from current weapons. You can reduce the casualties of war while at the same time increase efficiency. That sounds very appealing to me and hopefully that is what the future of warfare will amount to. I can't even imagine what it would be like if these weapons became the standard. It would be remarkable. It is amazing how much weapons and warfare are evolving. No one could have thought this to be possible 20 years ago. I'm interested to see if these weapons actually make it past testing and are employed in war. I hope they do.


I remember hearing about some of this technology on the History channel here in the US. It's fascinating stuff really. To be able to repel an onslaught without killing people (and more importantly innocent nearby civilians) could change the face of warfare.

I don't know, perhaps I'm just a mindless idealist but a world in which countries can carryout military missions without killing people is a world I hope we're working towards.


Electromagnetic weapons certainly will bring forth an important aspect of warfare in the future; for better or for worse. A great example is a railgun that they are currently working on in my hometown. It is a highly powerful weapon that accelerates projectiles by use of electromagnets inside of the gun itself. This allows the projectile to come out of the barrel at unimaginable speeds. They have not yet perfected it, but as time goes and funding continues to grow i'm sure they will.


Warfare is drastically changing. New technology such as this electromagnetic weapon are completely shaping the way we perform during battle. One new technology is the Drone, a key weapon of the U.S., which has had a huge impact on the world. These new technologies are very important to the country that controls them to give them the upper hand.

Brian Skarda

I believe the real dangers of this technology lies in the civilian aspects of the attacks. One countries government could choose to knock out the power plant that serves a large military base or computing center of the other country. While this would be a great tactic to knock out any electronic offensive measures or support from the base through communications the civilians who are served by that power plant will also be affected. If the basic utilities are not delivered to people their quality of life will drop dramatically. Will dealing with rolling blackouts be the new victory gardens? This will change the way warfare is fought both by the militaries and the people of the countries.


So this article implies that we use this technology to shut down an enemy tank. Great, the tank is no longer a threat - but do you truly think that after they neutralize the tanks movements and electronics they are going to peacefully go capture the people inside it? I would argue that these weapons will be used in a one two punch - the microwave, then the heavy artillery to blow the begeezus out of them. Seems like it's a great way to - quite literally - shoot fish in a barrel.


In my opinion, this new strategy of fighting will be extremely important to the future of our planet. In the past, the majority of fighting ends with high mortality rates which leaves both opponents in a vulnerable position. This new radar-disabling form of fighting will be much better and much more ethical in terms of the effects on human beings.
This new form of fighting also shows just how carried away our war-like technology has gotten out of hand. While we are still developing new forms of destructive weapons, we are simultaneously developing new technology to destroy our old technology.
Lastly, these new investigations make me wonder if this is a result of the recent opinions of Germany and other nations to shift away from nuclear energy as a whole. Is this an effort to eliminate other types of energy that have more war-like uses?


If we didn't think that sci-fi technologies were almost at the climax, were we wrong, drones, ray guns, and now electro-magnetic devices to shut down electronics. This truly is modern warfare. Since, modern warfare relies on technology so badly, then this exactly what one needs and what one would hate. This technology will bring so many new warfare devices in the future, such as a force-field. The future of warfare has indeed changed and USA is currently the leading revolutionist.


Warfare is changing, and it is changing drastically. Bullets and bombs are still going to play their part in wars and battles. They always have and they always will. Sometimes, the only way to stop a problem or to prevent one is to kill the source. However, the military and other companies, like the article suggest, are trying to develop new technologies that instead of killing the enemy, just weakens them and disables them. In doing this, you could have a plane wipe out an entire base with an electromagnetic pulse not allowing the enemy to move, thus you would never have to send in troops. By creating this new type of technology, many people are hoping that it will help to prevent the loss of lives on both sides. However, like I said before, killing the target may be the only way to actually stop them. This type of technology is bringing a whole new meaning to the term modern warfare. The ability to shoot down a missle with a "ray" gun is unreal. This type of weapon system could play a huge role in the War on Terror. Electromagnetic weapons are going to be the future of modern warfare. They are going to become a major strategy that countries look at to use instead of sending in troops.

Ryan Murdock

These weapons have the potential to be very effective and helpful in warfare, but I don't think it's going to get around the fact that we're still going to be killing each other while in warfare. If we stall the engine of a car full of terrorists, they're going to get out and shoot at us. They won't just say, "Oh dang you stalled our car, I guess you win!" It will definitely be helpful, but I just feel like the article makes it sound like warfare won't be about killing people anymore. Well, maybe it won't be in 20 years.



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