Air Force tests new ADS Weapon on humans and dogs

[Ian David]

By David Hambling| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Dec, 05, 2006

This story arrived in a large box. It was FedExed over by Ed Hammond of the Sunshine Project, a group that uses the Freedom of Information Act to delve into the darker corners of military research. Hammond had requested all testing protocols for nonlethal weapons that involved humans, and they all related to the Air Force's Active Denial System. (A cover letter from the Air Force explained that the ACCM laser dazzler had been omitted because it did not count as a weapon.) Hammond's specialty is chemical and biological weapons, and as he already had plenty to deal with he passed the several hundred pages of documents over to me.

There were 14 documents -- eight are available for download below -- and as you progress through them you can see how the Air Force's testing evolved from simple experiments on a few square inches of skin into fully fledged war games. Also, the cautious approach of early tests is gradually relaxed as experimenters gain confidence in the system's supposed safety.

Booze and ADS Don't Mix
The experiments get more bizarre as they progress. One of the experiments involved giving the subjects carefully measured doses of vodka to see if it helped them withstand the pain. See: Protocol F-WR-2002-0024-H: Effects of Ethanol on Millimeter-Wave-Induced Pain (1.4MB PDF).

ADS and Dogs
One test exposed military dog teams to the ADS' effects, apparently based on the idea that if the device is used for tasks like perimeter security, then there is a real risk of 'friendly fire' on dogs as well as humans. See: Protocol FWR-2004-0029-H: Effects of Active Denial System Exposures on the Performance of Military Working Dog Teams (2.7MB PDF).

Urban Testing
The testing gets serious with an assessment of ADS in an urban environment, in which a whole range of scenarios are described. These typically involve a security force dealing with a red force of aggressors and a number of noncombatant bystanders. There's a traffic control point set up, route clearance and search and rescue, all of which give some idea of what the ADS is expected to achieve. See: Protocol FWR-2005-0037-H, Military Utility Assessment of the Active Denial System (ADS) in an Urban Environment (5.4MB PDF).

More:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72236-0.html?tw=rss.index

This is very, VERY scary stuff.

A dangerous dose is approximately four times what anyone can stand. (Which is fine so long as you can get out of the beam...


See also:


Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72134-0.html

Weapons Freeze, Microwave Enemies
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,64437-0.html

[ms liberty]

1. K&R: Let's get this on the Greatest Page, folks...

They don't really want us to know this stuff - which means we really NEED to know this stuff.

[Ian David]

4. Countermeasures

<snip>

The beam penetrates clothing, but not stone or metal. Blocking it is harder than you might think. Wearing a tinfoil shirt is not enough -- you would have to be wrapped like a turkey to be completely protected. The experimenters found that even a small exposed area was enough to produce the Goodbye effect, so any gaps would negate protection. Holding up a sheet of metal won't work either, unless it covers your whole body and you can keep the tips of your fingers out of sight.

Wet clothing might sound like a good defense, but tests showed that contact with damp cloth actually intensified the effects of the beam.

System 1, the operational prototype, is mounted on a Hummer and produces a beam with a 2-meter diameter. Effective range is at least 500 meters, which is further than rubber bullets, tear gas or water cannons. The ammunition supply is effectively unlimited.

The military's tests went beyond safety, exploring how well the ADS works in practice. In one war game, an assault team staged a mock raid on a building. The ADS was used to remove civilians from the battlefield, separating what the military calls "tourists from terrorists."

More:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72134-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next1

[blues90]

20. astonishing !

You would think if you had a rational mind that instead of all the time and money invested to make such shit as an ADS new weapon to cause harm as all weapons do the time and funds could be spent to improve the lives of people like a new fuel to power cars but no , no , no , they have to continue and prolong human suffering .

Now what does one do , walk around shrouded in TV diners so at least some of the intense heat does some actual good ?

[Maraya1969]

24. I wonder if it causes PTSD since it makes people run away - I assume in fear

[Gregorian]

2. And no benefit to society whatsoever.

Whereas, healthcare and education should be our top priorities.

Something is very wrong with much of our society. Anyone who uses this as a means of financial support is nothing short of evil. It's going the wrong way. We need to reverse this crap and put our emphasis on betterment of society. Their views are shortsighted. It's just about how they can earn a living. Not tomorrow. Tomorrow we want a better world. Or is it that there isn't going to be a tomorrow? I see a better world.

I'm wasting my time. I feel like I'm repeating the same old lines, year after year. I feel like my mouth is moving, people hear the words, but nothing ever changes.

We're going backwards.

[havocmom]

3. The Air Force worries me. Too many xian fundies running amok at Academy

And am I the only one who recalls a news story, in early days of bush malAdministration, about DOD trying to figure delivery of calming drugs to subdue urban populations? The story hit once then disappeared off the radar.

VERY scary stuff. It is NOT America they are looking to protect, it is the military brass/corporate alliance they need to protect FROM Americans and other free citizens in the world.

[Ian David]

5. "If you leave the Free Speech Zone, you will be zapped."

And imagine if cops started using this thing as a matter of routine.

Every time a college frat party gets too many noise complaints, the cops just start zapping the kids with a microwave beam until they all go home.

You want to sweep a public housing development for drugs? Start microwaving the building, so that everyone congregates in the lobby.

You need to make a drug bust at a dance club? Start microwaving everyone inside.

Kids loitering in front of the convenience store? Just send a cruiser to zap them.

Presidential motorcade? Just fly a helicopter over the route with an ADS weapon, and clear the streets ahead of him.

[havocmom]

9. More like 'if you vary from your assigned role, you will be zapped'

Freedom is on the march... out of America

[Ian David]

11. NO! Go Home!

[valerief]

6. NEW ANTI-PROTEST MARCH WEAPON. Or the Federal Compliance

Tool.

[Kolesar]

18. Indeed! ... eom

[bobthedrummer]

7. Directed energy weapons are not new, there is a history of "r&d"

that is horrible, it was not confined to just the US.

Consider that when you have an organization like the Naval Postgraduate School listing some common directed energy weapons/DEW acronyms then you can assume that a lot of this stuff is operational-yet the history of "r&d" of many of these systems and weapons include crimes.

DEW Acronyms
http://www.nps.edu/Library/Research/Bibliographies/DEWs/DEWbibAcronyms.html

[mentalsolstice]

8. Will the bookshelves at the UCLA library block the beam? n/t

[soothsayer]

10. So did the vodka help? (vodka? we gonna use it on russians?)

[secular humanoid]

12. New justification for tinfoil hats...

New justification for tinfoil hats and "body armor"


peace

[Ian David]

14. Tinfoil hats are useless

Aluminum Foil Hats Will Not Stop "Them"
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thu Nov 10, '05 02:39 PM
from the time-to-switch-to-a-poly-carbon-blend dept.

Otter writes "A study at MIT has found that aluminum foil headwear ("Among a fringe community of paranoids..the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals") actually amplifies certain frequency bands allocated to the US government, as well as a mobile phone range, and is largely ineffective through the rest of the radio spectrum. But we can we trust the study, or are They controlling the researchers?"
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/10/1839224&tid=133

[glitch]

15. How about copper hair nets? nt

[k-robjoe]

13. Must see

Here is a must see interview. It also gets into the use of these weapons in Iraq :

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2497840938718341112&q=manchurian

[eppur_se_muova]

16. Best defense? A retroreflector. Beams the energy back to its source, regardless..

of orientation, unlike a simple mirror. The simplest retroreflector is just three sides of a cube. Many safety reflectors have an array of indentations of this shape molded into them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector

[EnviroBat]

19. Would one be able to build a small reflecting shield such as this..

against this ADS weapon? If so, I would start building them in my garage right away. It would seem possible, no? Shouldn't be too difficult for some MIT grands from the school of dissent.

[eppur_se_muova]

21. I would think so. The shape can be provided by plastic or cardboard, as long as...

it is coated with a conductor. In fact, a wire mesh screen with spacing smaller than the wavelength of the microwaves is an effective shield. This could be molded over a form of the right shape (series of cube corners) and would have the advantage of providing clear vision (like the material in a microwave oven door).

In terms of cost vs effectiveness, I think the advantage lies with the defensive shield, not the offensive microwave projector.

[Ian David]

22. You know what? Fuck just protecting yourself. I have a better idea

How can you direct the damn thing right back at the person projecting it?

Edited to add:

Ahh... someone answered my question already:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2861626#2862192


A retroflector may consist of many very small versions of these structures incorporated in a thin sheet or in paint. In the case of paint containing glass beads, the paint glues the beads to the surface where retroreflection is required, and the beads protrude, their diameter being about twice the thickness of the paint.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector#Retroreflectivity_used_to_detect_digital_cameras

[eppur_se_muova]

25. That's why it's called "retro"reflector. Neat, huh? nt

[Ian David]

23. Might this work?

Metlon offers 3M™ Scotchlite™ Reflective Material products that are ANSI/ISEA 107 compliant. (The ANSI/ISEA 107 standard provides performance specifications for background and retroflective materials, test methods, minimum amounts, placement, and care labeling.)
http://www.metlon.com/reflectivematerial.htm

[eppur_se_muova]

26. That's for visible light. But if the "silver" color is aluminum, it might work for microwaves.

Wouldn't want to try the experiment except under laboratory conditions, though. I suspect it won't work for an "off the shelf" product.

[bobthedrummer]

17. The politicized leadership of the USAF has been dominated by neo-cons,

and a lot of the subsequent RW ideology involves "The End Times". The BFEE loves guys like former CJCS USAF Gen. Myers and the "retired" (to NASA's Ames Research facility with NASA's most powerful supercomputer and control of space weapons) former USAF General Simon P. Worden, who was once in charge of the infamous "closed" Office of Strategic Influence...yes, these folks are "out there"

Here's an example of where a lot of the "white/grey/black" missing and pilfered DoD budget has gone-the r&d of "Air Force 2025"--part of Rumfeld's "force transformation" and Republican/BFEE SDI stuff.

Air Force 2025
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/usaf/2025/index.html

It's not tinfoil, it's just another part of the BFEE's "vision".

:nuke:

[Heywood J]

27. I think this a sign

that the new Democratic congress needs to start looking into large defunding of the Air Force. After all, if they have time for things like this - with obvious potential to be used for torture, on US citizens, etc - then they have too much time, money, and personnel.

Provide enough money for salaries, maintenance expenditures, and other absolute necessities - nothing more. Make them submit a line-by-line budget to Congress, highlighting every projected expenditure of money, and then have Congress go through it and delete objectionables from the total. Do that and this kind of shit will soon cease.


It's so fucking transparent that torture and use on civilians domestically were the two things on the lips of those I've shown this to. "It'll be used on us."