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| US military unveils heat-ray gun | US military unveils heat-ray gun |
| (4 days later) | |
| The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds. | The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds. |
| Called the Active Denial System, it projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling. | Called the Active Denial System, it projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling. |
| Military officials, who say the gun is harmless, believe it could be used as a non-lethal way of making enemies surrender their weapons. | Military officials, who say the gun is harmless, believe it could be used as a non-lethal way of making enemies surrender their weapons. |
| Officials said there was wide-ranging military interest in the technology. | Officials said there was wide-ranging military interest in the technology. |
| How the heat-ray gun works | How the heat-ray gun works |
| "This is a breakthrough technology that's going to give our forces a capability they don't now have," defence official Theodore Barna told Reuters news agency. | "This is a breakthrough technology that's going to give our forces a capability they don't now have," defence official Theodore Barna told Reuters news agency. |
| "We expect the services to add it to their tool kit. And that could happen as early as 2010." | "We expect the services to add it to their tool kit. And that could happen as early as 2010." |
| 'Blast from an oven' | 'Blast from an oven' |
| The prototype weapon was demonstrated at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. | The prototype weapon was demonstrated at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. |
| A beam was fired from a large rectangular dish mounted on a Humvee vehicle. | A beam was fired from a large rectangular dish mounted on a Humvee vehicle. |
| The beam has a reach of up to 500m (550 yds), much further than existing non-lethal weapons like rubber bullets. | The beam has a reach of up to 500m (550 yds), much further than existing non-lethal weapons like rubber bullets. |
| It can penetrate clothes, suddenly heating up the skin of anyone in its path to 50C. | It can penetrate clothes, suddenly heating up the skin of anyone in its path to 50C. |
| But it penetrates the skin only to a tiny depth - enough to cause discomfort but no lasting harm, according to the military. | But it penetrates the skin only to a tiny depth - enough to cause discomfort but no lasting harm, according to the military. |
| A Reuters journalist who volunteered to be shot with the beam described the sensation as similar to a blast from a very hot oven - too painful to bear without diving for cover. | A Reuters journalist who volunteered to be shot with the beam described the sensation as similar to a blast from a very hot oven - too painful to bear without diving for cover. |
| Crowd control | Crowd control |
| Military officials said the weapon was one of the key technologies of the future. | Military officials said the weapon was one of the key technologies of the future. |
| "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in," said Marine Col Kirk Hymes, director of the development programme. | "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in," said Marine Col Kirk Hymes, director of the development programme. |
| The weapon could potentially be used for dispersing hostile crowds in conflict zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan. | The weapon could potentially be used for dispersing hostile crowds in conflict zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan. |
| It would mean that troops could take effective steps to move people along without resorting to measures such as rubber bullets - bridging the gap between "shouting and shooting", Col Hymes said. | It would mean that troops could take effective steps to move people along without resorting to measures such as rubber bullets - bridging the gap between "shouting and shooting", Col Hymes said. |
| A similar "non-lethal" weapon, Silent Guardian, is being developed by US company Raytheon. | |
| HOW HEAT-RAY GUN WORKS 1 360-degree operation for maximum effect Antenna, linked to transmitter unit, can be mounted on vehicle Automatic target tracking 2 Antenna sealed against dust and can withstand bullet fire3 Invisible beam of millimetre-wave energy can travel over 500m4 Heat energy up to 54C (130F) penetrates less than 0.5mm of skin Manufacturers say this avoids injury, although long-term effects are not known | HOW HEAT-RAY GUN WORKS 1 360-degree operation for maximum effect Antenna, linked to transmitter unit, can be mounted on vehicle Automatic target tracking 2 Antenna sealed against dust and can withstand bullet fire3 Invisible beam of millimetre-wave energy can travel over 500m4 Heat energy up to 54C (130F) penetrates less than 0.5mm of skin Manufacturers say this avoids injury, although long-term effects are not known |
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