Lights Out: Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact!

Posted by in Technology


Like something out of a movie, the ability to disable an enemy’s electrical system from a distance is on the verge of being a reality in use. It is called CHAMP, which stands for Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project. The missile is reportedly able to fly over and shoot a burst of High-Powered Microwaves that can accurately target specific areas, buildings, etc. and cause a blackout of all electrical devices.

 

On Oct. 22, this was the feature story on Boeing’s site. A Boeing Phantom Works team along with a U.S. Air Force team of specialists conducted the test on Oct. 16, which was accomplished successfully according to the video report, providing CHAMP technology is on the path to furnishing a technology that we have seen in fiction from Hollywood for years - a non-lethal weapon that wipes out electronics without causing any physical damage to people or structures.

 

“This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare. In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy’s electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive,” says Keith Coleman, the CHAMP program manager for Boeing Phantom Works.

 

While this technology is being initially designed with military use in mind, one has to wonder if there will be a day when this technology gets into the wrong hands. What if one day, the technology can be condensed and made more compact, and then it falls into the hands of the common criminal? Could a day come where, with the push of a button an entire store could be sent into a state of blackout, disabling all security systems and electronic connections with the outside world, leaving the business defenseless against an attack? Hopefully it will never come to that, or hopefully by that time, countermeasures can be in place to prevent abuse, but we can’t deny the potential of such technology.

 

In the past, electrical systems have been shut down from the use of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP), but of course that comes after the explosion of a nuclear weapon, which tends to cause a bit of damage. This technology causes “no big bang, no billowing clouds of dust and debris,” says an AOL Defense article, therefore no collateral damage. I do wonder just how much testing has or will be done to determine what kind of an affect a High-Powered Microwave pulse will have on humans caught in its path. For years, reports have warned us of the effects and dangers on humans and foods from the use of the household, shielded microwave oven. So it makes me wonder what this kind of higher powered pulse would do to the human body present in a building where the technology was used. Maybe such information will be released as further testing is conducted. For now, it seems this new technology is promising. At least until the enemy creates a defense against it.

 

Images courtesy of Boeing

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  • Jeffrey McCormack
    Jeffrey McCormack
    Thanks for the comments, and Jim, yeah, what you say is a possibility.
  • Jim R
    Jim R
    There are a variety of energy types that can be used to "knock-out" the power to a building, block, or even a city.Usually when developments like this are made public knowledge, it's indicative of much more powerful defensive and offensive weapons that are secretly managed by the U.S. Government (oops, forgot to mention, a Government of, by and for the people).God bless!
  • Nancy H
    Nancy H
    Very interesting since I am in the IT field. Thanks for the update.
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