"Pain gun" gets Air Force green light

Despite the fact that the Air Force's Active Denial System has yet to be deployed against unruly domestic mobs as Secretary Michael Wynn would have liked -- seems like they missed their opportunity prior to the PS3 launch -- Wired is reporting that the branch's so-called "pain gun" has been certified as "safe" by scientists and "excruciating" by the soldiers and monkeys it was tested on. For those of you who don't follow the latest developments in non-lethal weaponry, the ADS -- which has been in development for over ten years -- shoots a 94GHz millimeter wave that triggers an immediate flight response from anyone in its path within 500 meters; although the majority of military test results are classified, it's said that even the toughest subjects can only endure five seconds of the intense burning before running like hell in the opposite direction. Just because the weapon has been green lit for combat, however, doesn't mean that we'll see ADS-equipped Hummers rolling around the streets of Baghdad anytime soon: as Secretary Wynn suggested, international backlash could be significant once photos of beet red, blistered victims start hitting the internet and 24-hour news networks. Still, with the military stuffing this technology into weapons of all shapes and sizes (plane-mounted versions will soon bring the pain from above), it probably won't be too long before these devices become so mainstream that you'll be able to pick one up at Wal-Mart bundled with a free tube of burn cream.

[Randy @ Dec 5th 2006 1:29PM]

"it probably won't be too long before these devices become so mainstream that you'll be able to pick one up at Wal-Mart bundled with a free tube of burn cream."

mmmmm blister pack of pain.

Wow, it has meanings on so many levels.

[Brian @ Dec 5th 2006 1:32PM]

and what do you want for Christmas little boy?
A red rider 94GHz wave gun!
You'll burn your skin off kid.

[Dan @ Dec 5th 2006 1:34PM]

Anyone remember the prism tank from Red Alert 2?

[Meltz; @ Dec 5th 2006 2:35PM]

Remember?? I still play it regularly!

[SwissFreek @ Dec 5th 2006 1:38PM]

There was an investigation a few weeks ago into a woman who was being accused of putting her baby in the microwave and killing it, and I remember reading that what made the investigation so difficult was that when something is cooked in a microwave, it cooks from the inside, meaning that there is very little evidence on the outside of burns or blisters or anything like that. So, beet-red victims on TV? Not likely.

Does it seem barbaric at face value to think that we are essentially microwaving people? A little. But at a does that doesn't cause permanent damage, and considering the alternative (you know, being full of holes and bleeding to death), it gains a slightly different perspective. Would you say we shouldn't be using pepper spray on people because there will be beet-red faces of maced victims on TV, and that instead we should just shoot them (whether they are insurgents in whatever country, or rioters here or there) instead? Not likely.

[Weembles @ Dec 5th 2006 2:26PM]

This particular weapon is actually supposed to work only on the skin of its targets, so the 'cook from the inside' effect of kitchen microwaves doesn't happen. In the animal and human tests so far it has been shown to cause redness and blistering of the skin with prolonged exposure. So - beet red victims? Very Likely!

[Rob W @ Dec 5th 2006 2:53PM]

Kitchen microwaves cooking from the inside?!

I hate to break it to you, but that's not how a microwave works. Heck,.. you can even check it out for yourself. Put a frozen burrito in the microwave and nuke it for half the time you're supposed to. Then cut it open. You'll notice that the outside is hot while the center is still cold.

I swear,.. some of you guys are idiots.

[James @ Dec 5th 2006 1:39PM]

Or the Atreides sonice tank from Dune II?

[Z @ Dec 5th 2006 1:41PM]

Along with ADS-equipped weaponry and vehicles, the U.S. just needs a big troop of the "X-Files Super-Soldiers" and we'll be good to go.

[LittleJoe @ Dec 5th 2006 1:43PM]

cruel and unusual???

why dont we just toss some napalm on them?

[Colin @ Dec 5th 2006 1:53PM]

I wouldn't call it cruel and unusual. Think if they had this kind of technology when the USS Cole was bombed. They weren't permitted to fire on the boat that approached the ship, but with this kind of weapon perhaps they could have gotten them to turn around. Who knows. Seems like this could definitely save American lives.

[Wonderboy @ Dec 5th 2006 1:55PM]

As was said above, this really isn't that bad. It's not like they're firing this thing on just anyone, so if you don't want to suffer the pain, don't do anything worthy of getting fired on. Or, of course, you could lobby against this and allow continued use of less "cruel and unusual" guns and grenades... yeah, that's a much better option.

[Kane @ Mar 5th 2008 5:15AM]

"save American lives"? How about just lives of people regardless of where they come from.

A life is a life.

[TS @ Dec 5th 2006 1:53PM]

"cruel and unusual???

why dont we just toss some napalm on them?"

Because napalm would have a very permanent and horrifically scarring effect, that is, if it doesn't kill you.

This will, at worst, give you redness and small blisters. And that is only under sustained exposure, according to the article.

[TS @ Dec 5th 2006 1:58PM]

I'd also like to note that the article states that from over 10,000 exposure tests to the weapon, there were a grand total of SIX(!!) reported cases or blisters or skin burns.

I'm sure if you fired this weapon at someone for two minutes straight it might have some severe effects, but from the sound of it anyone exposed to this would have run off or been incapacitated after just a fraction of that time.

[chenry @ Dec 5th 2006 2:14PM]

ow, sounds fun.

[Fuzz @ Dec 5th 2006 2:15PM]

Well, it's a good thing they have finally figured out how to win the "hearts and minds" of Iraqi's. Make them popcorn! Literally. That should stop the insurgency.

[James @ Dec 5th 2006 2:21PM]

"...it probably won't be too long before these devices become so mainstream that you'll be able to pick one up at Wal-Mart bundled with a free tube of burn cream."

Evan you are an idiot... Starting to become like the local TV news. Making up shit.

[chenry @ Dec 5th 2006 2:35PM]

Wow, ever heard of a joke?

[Marcelo @ Dec 5th 2006 2:24PM]

Anyone else find irony in the fact that the new weapon OKed for use in Iraq is called the "Active Denial System?" The Iraq campaign itself seems to be more of an Active Denial System than any pain gun.

Just me? Okay then.

[sandiegocali @ Dec 5th 2006 2:27PM]

checks ebay for pain gun* I want to mount this to my front bumper to get the brain dead idiots doing 55mph out of the fast lane !!

[jav @ Dec 5th 2006 2:32PM]

500 meters uh??.. whata bout if ur at 100 meters... okay u dont stand 5 seconds,, but u have to run 400 meters as hell so u dont get burned or something
thinkin that it makes u run faster too 400 meters goin at 15 to 20 secs means 45sec to 1 min of microwave on high....

[chenry @ Dec 5th 2006 3:18PM]

the ADS is a directed energy weapon; the system works by targeting an individual and hitting them with a short burst. Something like 2 seconds. It isn't a radius-weapon or anything like that.

[cjrenaud @ Dec 6th 2006 4:43PM]

(grabs his jav-to-English dictionary)

[Austin @ Dec 5th 2006 2:44PM]

Ratheon was the developer. I knew some people who worked there and told me about this a while ago. It isn't using microwave radiation at all but a wave frequency that touches all of your nerves at once. From what i heard years ago was that a seasoned navy seal vet couldn't stand more than a few seconds of the ray on just his hand alone.

What is pain really but sensation on the nerves. One level its tickling, the next level is torture. The idea of it bothers me greatly.

Do you think that a pain ray flack jacket will just be a coat with a bunch of holes like the door of a microwave?

[PreGHz @ Dec 5th 2006 4:33PM]

Rob,

Look up your information again.

The microwave penetrates the burrito an inch or two and cooks it there. In-between the outside and the center is where the burrito is the hottest.

Seriously. Those is glasses houses shouldn't throw stones.

[eric.tollefson @ Dec 5th 2006 2:59PM]

I don't think the Wired article does a very good job of explaining the safety issues of this weapon. They say it falls between a microwave and X-rays - which is accurate, but misleading. Millimeter-waves are actually between microwaves and infra-red light. Due to the 'skin effect' they won't penetrate past the very top layer of skin, so there's no danger of being cooked from the inside (note that microwaves don't do this either, they also heat the surface but penetrate somewhat deeper). This heats up the skin, causing pain, but the worst-case effects would be superficial burns. It's not ionizing radiation (like X-rays), so it's not going to mess up DNA and cause cancer. The biggest danger is to your eyes, which will be the first to experience damage, and I agree with that article that people will reflexively close them or turn away. A good safety feature would be to limit the duty cycle - it might be on for 3 seconds, off for 7 - so it's only on 30% of the time and nobody gets more than a 3 second dose at a time.

[chenry @ Dec 5th 2006 3:13PM]

Actually, the ADS fires a 95GHz beam.
They think that it would take about 250 seconds of prolonged exposure to burn the skin.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/v-mads.htm

[dave @ Dec 5th 2006 3:23PM]

Imagine...the street infront of a military base in Iraq, protesters begin to mill about interfearing with operations, the are chanting, yelling in arabic...They begin to get unrully, in a snap decision, a 19 year old PFC opens up with one of these...Chaos ensues, people go from milling about to running and screaming, stampeading in a mob, heading in any direction, as long as it is away. CNN, Al-Arabia, Al-Jezera, have camera crews covering the whole scene. They're interviewing the injured from the hospital; a little kid, blinded by the "horrible Zionist American Death Ray" is on 500 cable channels across the middle east. A 70 year old man, crushed in the stampede asks "Why?"

Osama won't have enough room in the cave from all the new recruits. They will deploy these damn things from Hummvee's, Strykers, Predator drones and AC-130 Gunships. They'll put them infront of embassies, and on ships, they will mount them instead of water cannons and they will use them, because they're "non-lethal".

And you guys in the "tin foil hat brigade" don't think the the boys at SWAT won't want some of this action too. The next time all those anti-globalism loonies show up at a G8 summit, ZAP! That'll teach them birkenstock wearing, granola eating hippies what for.

Yeah, It's all good...Welcome to the 21st century ladies and gentlemen, Peace and Love...Peace and Love

[Zach @ Dec 5th 2006 5:20PM]

Yea, as apposed to just throwing a grenade??!?!

[Andrew @ Dec 5th 2006 3:23PM]

@ SwissFreek:

Microwaves don't cook things from the inside, that's a myth. It's such a myth, in fact, that it was a segment on Mythbusters, in which they tried to cook a big frozen ham for like an hour. When they cut it in half, it was still frozen on the inside.

[Andrew @ Dec 5th 2006 3:24PM]

My bad, Rob got to the microwave myth before I did.

[Jeff @ Dec 5th 2006 3:24PM]

I say stick one in the middle of the war zone we call Philly and watch the [insert first thought here] drop their weapons and run to New Jersey!

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 5th 2006 3:38PM]

Just wait till the guys over at "Jackass" get their hands on this!

[hydrogen_wv @ Dec 5th 2006 3:42PM]

.. Although a radius version would be very useful in riots.

[hydrogen_wv @ Dec 5th 2006 3:45PM]

Microwaves don't cook from the inside out, they cook it all at teh same time afaik. Microwaves don't use heat, they vibrate water molecules and as molecules move faster and faster, they heat up.....

In fact, if you take a bowl or glass, put it in the 'wave for 10 minutes and take it out, it will not be hot, because there are no water molecules to vibrate

[KushCash @ Dec 5th 2006 3:53PM]

" It's said that even the toughest subjects can only endure five seconds of the intense burning before running like hell in the opposite direction."

Except for many of the girls that I know that would jump for joy - thinking about the money they would save at tanning salons.

[Mike @ Dec 5th 2006 4:00PM]

This could be very dangerous for several reasons: according to the article 83% of the radiation is absorbed by the skin, which causes the redness, pain and blistering. In some ways this is similar to an extremely fast, high intensity sunburn...and sunburn does cause cancer in the long term. But sunburn is caused by a much shorter wavelength radiation, which doesn't penetrate even as deep as this new weapon.

It also means that the remaining 17% of the energy penetrates even deeper than the skin, which is a significant amount, especially at high power intensities. So it probably really is cooking your insides a little bit, though not as much as microwaves. We probably wouldn't know the long term effects of this for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if cell damage occurred that was not visible at the macro level (e.g. genetic damage).

The real danger is that if you call it "safe" it will end up be used a lot more, and cause many more problems than if it were treated as any another dangerous weapon. Since some of the arguments for the "safety" of the weapon are that people get away frome the beam before being dangerously exposed, what happens if their ability to escape is hampered, either accidentally or deliberately? How many people will be seriously cooked because they are backed against a wall by a rampaging crowd? And will it be used as a torture device by people thinking they can cause extreme pain without death? What does "safe" mean in that context?

[Fergus Kane @ Mar 4th 2008 7:51AM]

Exactly. In the wrong hands (read 'any ambitious government'), this sort of 'safe' weapon could totally obliterate our freedom to peaceful protest. The long range makes it much more worrying than water cannons. People in 'free' countries tend to object to physical violence against their citizens, but this is much more subtle, something the moral majority could probably live with. In exchange, perhaps, for control over, say: gays, blacks, liberals, the religious, or any minority with a grievance.

To those who say this would never happen in a civilised country, just count (in your country) how many years ago the following applied.

-Illegal to be gay
-Legal to own a slave.
-Voting only for men
-Voting only for whites.. etc.

Not that long ago. It can be reversed.

Oh.. Autonomous pain gun robots linked into a national database and plenty of CCTV. not scary. not at all. As long as you don't break the law, which is always fair, unchangable and valid, you've nothing to be scared of.

[iggles @ Dec 5th 2006 4:03PM]

What if you walk around in a portable Faraday cage? Are you immune?

[jay.viz @ Dec 5th 2006 4:24PM]

Microwaves will make you go blind long before killing you. Certain organs deal with microwaves differently than others. Human eyes contain masses of water and are particularly bad at dissipating heat. This leads to relatively quick permanent damage from microwave radiation.

Microwaves are lensed by certain metals, which can cause electrical discharge and can randomly amplify the concentration levels unpredictably when used for such a purpose.

As far as I know, these reasons are why microwave emitters haven't been weaponized so far. I don't know why they'd start now.

[PreGHz @ Dec 5th 2006 4:37PM]

*cough* glass houses*, my bad.

Also, the burrito wouldn't be done cooking when the time is over. It's alway recommended that you leave foods in the microwave for a minute or two for it to finish what it's doing, and let it cool down a tad.

[Mike @ Dec 5th 2006 5:33PM]

PreGHZ, do humanity a favor and check your information before spreading myths.
Microwaves cook the outer layers first, then the inner layers. Not inside or somewhere-in-the-middle first.
If the outer layer of a burrito are less hot than the stuffing it's because the tortilla contains less water. So to make a proper test, put a frozen cucumber in a microwave for a few minutes and cut it. The inside will still be cold, the outside will be warm.

[sj @ Dec 5th 2006 4:52PM]

"as Secretary Wynn suggested, international backlash could be significant once photos of beet red, blistered victims start hitting the internet and 24-hour news networks."

Ummm, when was the last time anyone saw a gun shot, mortar, or grenade victim on the "24-hour news networks"? Let's face it, our "Regime" does a good job of covering up all evidence of a war so citizens like us won't think it's wrong to kill, maim, or cripple others. PROPAGANDA? OK!

[chenry @ Dec 5th 2006 5:18PM]

incidentally, millimeter waves are currently being used in that funky x-ray screening system that lets you see what's under someone's clothes.

[Blacknimbus @ Dec 5th 2006 5:19PM]

Yes, Dave. It would be much better to hit the mob with a .50 BMG. Although chunks tend to complain less than scalded cats.

Some people don't understand what the military is or what it's for. It's something you unleash after careful deliberation and rein in when it's accomplished it's goals. If you can do that by making the enemy uncomfortable in certain specific situations instead of killing them, so much the better.

[t @ Dec 5th 2006 5:24PM]

and now for the race to develop a wearable material to block the face melt rays

[PreGHz @ Dec 5th 2006 5:57PM]

Prove me wrong.

Here's how you're wrong.

"As an example, uneven heating in frozen foods is a particular problem, since ice absorbs microwave energy much less well than liquid water, leading to defrosted sections of food warming faster due to more rapid heat deposition there. Due to this phenomenon, microwave ovens set at too-high power levels may even start to cook the edges of the frozen food, while the inside of the food remains frozen."

It's not about the water, love. It's about the state.

[sandiegocali @ Dec 5th 2006 5:36PM]

Nerds

[James @ Dec 5th 2006 5:52PM]

Take the frozen cucumber and stick it ........

You people are a bunch of dumb asses that think you know every thing about the world. Get off your damn computer, pop your zits and go in to the world!