Intermediate Force Capabilities: High-Value Options for the U.S. Military

Abstract

Non-lethal weapons (NLWs) include a highly diverse set of systems, including acoustic hailing devices, eye-safe laser dazzlers, flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, millimeter-wave emitters that cause a temporary heating sensation, microwave emitters that shutdown electronics, and entangling devices to stop vehicles or vessels. The intent of these systems is to achieve military objectives while limiting harm to people and objects. NLWs are part of a suite of intermediate force capabilities (IFCs), alongside information operations (IO), electromagnetic warfare (EW), and cyber capabilities, whose effects do not directly stem from explosive or penetrating force. Another feature that they share is that it is difficult to measure their impact.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2024
Accession Number
AD1223208

Entities

People

  • Andrew Ziebell
  • Clay Mckinney
  • Jonathan P. Wong
  • Krista R. Grocholski
  • Monika Cooper
  • Raza Khan
  • Scott Savitz
  • Sydney Litterer

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Marksmanship and Weaponry.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • 5G
  • 5G - DoD 5G Program
  • 5G - Internet of Things
  • Cyber
  • Cyber - Quantum
  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems