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February 17, 2024

Most Americans are familiar with nuclear weapons; it is not necessary for the news to constantly explain what a nuclear weapon is or its dangers.

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But there is another type of weapon that might be even more of a threat than nuclear weapons, which is unfortunately less known about, and, due to comedic representations of the technologies in movies and the tabloidization and general untrustworthiness of mainstream media, is going to require a significant effort to educate others about.

The type of technology is sometimes described as “Directed Energy,” “Directed Energy Weapons,” and “Directed Energy Systems.” It is worth providing multiple descriptions of Directed Energy and the weapons and systems which use directed energy. Directed energy (DE) is an

umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. A DE weapon is a system using DE primarily as a direct means to disable, damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel. DE warfare is military action involving the use of DE weapons, devices, and countermeasures to either cause direct damage or destruction of adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel, or to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) through damage, destruction, and disruption.

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An Office of Naval Research publication describes Directed Energy Weapons in this way:

Directed energy weapons (DEWs) are defined as electromagnetic systems capable of converting chemical or electrical energy to radiated energy and focusing it on a target, resulting in physical damage that degrades, neutralizes, defeats, or destroys an adversarial capability. Navy DEWs include systems that use High Energy Lasers (HEL) that emit photons, and High Power Microwaves (HPM) that release radiofrequency waves. The U.S. Navy uses DEWs for power projection and integrated defense missions. The ability to focus the radiated energy reliably and repeatedly at range, with precision and controllable effects, while producing measured physical damage and/or mission defeat, is the measure of DEW system effectiveness.

One might be able to determine how difficult it is going to be to get others to believe the threat of such weapons. Many people in society cannot hold a serious thought for more than a few seconds. Explaining that microwave technologies (which are really radiofrequency waves) can be focused and shot like a gun, so to speak, or explaining that lasers actually are a threat, is going to be difficult.

One might ask, what is the threat of such weapons? A reference lists how such weapons might be useful for militaries and the dangers to civilians can be determined with common sense:

  • speed of light engagement which makes responsiveness and tracking much faster than kinetic weapons;
  • deep shot magazines which are only limited by the electrical power supplied to and re-generated by the system;
  • “stealth-like” performance (quiet and invisible beams) that are hard to detect or intercept;
  • precision targeting for both lethal and non-lethal applications; and
  • low-cost per shot compared to traditional munitions.

Also, some of the weapons can be operated from “hundreds of miles” away from the target.

Thus, one might be able to determine how directed energy weapons and systems could be even more dangerous than nuclear weapons. Directed Energy Weapons and Systems can move at the speed of light, are low-cost, are invisible, and are extremely accurate and, unlike nuclear weapons, can be fired at individual targets rather than causing mass destruction.