High Power Microwave Weapons: Disruptive Technology for the Future

Abstract

The United States (US) has made a dedicated effort to shift focus to a conventional peer-on-peer fight, while still engaging in asymmetric conflicts around the globe. The US needs to have the capability to engage in conflicts across the range of military options. While the military has engaged in low-intensity conflict, its research laboratories, in conjunction with industry, have been pursuing technology that will ensure the US maintains its strategic advantage. In the last few years, there have been several mandates for the Department of Defense (DoD) to research and field directed energy weapons. The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandated the establishment of a program to prototype and demonstrate directed energy weapons (DEWs) that will guarantee the military superiority of the US. The NDAA's mandate is driving the requirement for the military branches to find ways to transition DEWs to the operational inventory. The Air Force created a Directed Energy Flight Plan, which describes DEWs as a technology that can "precisely engage targets of interest with little to no collateral damage or detectible disturbance." These weapons are being called "game-changing" because of their unique capabilities. DEWs give the US Government options if or when it decides to take action in response to a countries belligerent behavior. Fielding DEWs, more specifically high-powered microwaves (HPMs), meets the intent of the 2018 NDAA and is directly in line with the National Defense Strategy's (NDS) goal of increasing joint lethality in contested environments with the use of the non-kinetic precision strike. This study contends that HPMs are viable weapons that have the potential to be deployed in the operational environment in the next five to ten years.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 05, 2020
Accession Number
AD1107488

Entities

People

  • Jack Mcgonegal

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Denial System
  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Control Systems
  • Cruise Missiles
  • Department Of Defense
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • Employment
  • Frequency
  • High Power Microwave
  • High Power Microwaves
  • High Powered Microwave Weapons
  • Infrastructure
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Nonlethal Weapons
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Warfare
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons
  • Weapons Effects

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy