Politics · United States · 5 hrs ago
US authorizes border tests of heat-beam system
The Pentagon has authorized DHS to test a heat-beam system for possible use at the US-Mexico border.
The Active Denial System, or ADS, sends invisible millimeter waves that heat the surface of the skin and cause intense pain.
It is designed to make people move away without physical contact, but exposure can cause burns.
DHS will control the tests and develop possible tactics, under a temporary seven-month loan of one unit starting in September.
Officials have discussed using the system to disperse crowds, including migrants and protesters, but the test location and future use remain unspecified.
Activists have called deploying the weapon unacceptable, while concerns remain about who could be hit and how it would be used.
After the loan period, DHS can request an extension based on border operation needs.
The Pentagon authorized the Department of Homeland Security to test an Active Denial System heat-beam weapon for possible use at the US-Mexico border.
The system uses invisible millimeter waves to heat the skin’s surface, causing an intense burning sensation intended to make people move away.
The authorization allows DHS to borrow one unit for seven months starting in September and develop possible tactics.
The test location and any future use of the device have not been specified.
Activists have called deploying an electromagnetic weapon at the border unacceptable.
- Who
- The US Department of Homeland Security was authorized by the Pentagon to test the system.
- What
- DHS may test the Active Denial System, a directed-energy weapon that causes an intense burning sensation.
- When
- The authorization provides for a seven-month loan starting in September. The sources do not state the year.
- Where
- The possible testing is associated with the US-Mexico border, but no specific location is stated.
- Why
- The system is intended to deter and disperse crowds; officials have discussed possible use against groups in the border area.
US agencies
Activists
Use of the system
US agencies
DHS is authorized to test the weapon and develop tactics for possible border use.
Activists
Activists have described deploying an electromagnetic weapon at the border as unacceptable.
Purpose
US agencies
The system is designed to deter and disperse crowds without physical contact.
Activists
Not stated in the available source material.
Data cited in the report said the beam could heat water beneath the skin’s surface to about 54 °C.
DHS is authorized to borrow one ADS unit for seven months and develop possible tactics for its use.
- System
- Active Denial System (ADS)
- Frequency
- 95 GHz
- Skin penetration
- Approximately 0.4 mm
- Surface temperature cited
- About 54 °C (130 °F)
- Loan period
- Seven months, starting in September
- Development cost cited
- US$51 million
3 sources
What people are saying
an instinctive and uncontrollable desire to flee