The value of weapons on new physical principles. Wars will become invisible. Weapons based on new physical principles
In recent decades, when developing the concept of modern wars, NATO countries have attached increasing importance to the creation of fundamentally new types of weapons. Its distinguishing feature is the damaging effect on people, which, as a rule, does not lead to death of the affected.
This type includes weapons that are capable of neutralizing or depriving the enemy of the opportunity to conduct active hostilities without significant irretrievable losses of manpower and destruction of material values.
Possible weapons based on new physical principles (ONFP), primarily non-lethal, include:
1) geophysical (meteorological, ozone, climatic);
2) radiological;
3) radio frequency;
4) laser;
5) infrasonic;
6) genetic;
7)) ethnic;
8) beam;
9 antimatter;
10) paranormal phenomena;
11) acoustic;
12) electromagnetic;
13) information and psychological;
14) thermal.
1. A serious danger to the manpower of the battlefield may arise in connection with the creation "geophysical weapon" . Its functions are based on the use of the mechanism impact on the processes occurring in the solid, liquid and gaseous shells of the Earth. In this case, the state of unstable equilibrium is of particular interest.
The basis of the operation of this weapon is supposed to be the use of means that cause natural disasters (earthquakes, showers, tsunamis, etc.), the destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, which protects the animal and plant world from the destructive radiation of the Sun. Of particular importance for the use of such means is the atmospheric layer at an altitude of 10 to 60 kilometers.
According to the nature of the impact, geophysical weapons are sometimes divided into:
a) meteorological
b) ozone,
c) climatic.
The most studied and tested in practice action meteorological weapon is to provoke downpours in certain areas. For this purpose, in particular, scattering of dry ice granules, silver iodide or barium iodide, and lead in rain clouds was used. A cloud of several thousand cubic kilometers in size, carrying energy reserves of the order of a million kilowatt-hours, is usually in an unstable state, and it is enough to scatter about 1 kilogram of silver iodide over it to drastically change its state and provoke a shower. Multiple aircraft, by using hundreds kilograms of specially selected reagents able to disperse clouds over an area of several thousand square kilometers and cause heavy rainfall and floods in some regions, but at the same time create “flying” weather in others.
The results of artificial stimulation of heavy rains, which were undertaken by the United States during the Vietnam War, and also, apparently, with the help of which weather conditions were created during the war in Yugoslavia in 1999, are known.
climate weapon considered as a kind of geophysical, since climate change occurs as a result of interference with atmospheric processes of weather formation.
aim a long-term (say, ten years) use of these weapons may be a decrease in the efficiency of agricultural production of a potential enemy, a deterioration in the food supply to the population of a given region. Catastrophic consequences for the state can be caused by a decrease of only 1 degree in the average annual temperature in the area of latitudes, where the bulk of grain is produced. As a result, political and even strategic goals can be achieved without starting a war in its traditional sense.
At the same time, the use of climate weapons in one area of the world can really destroy the planet's remaining climate balance and cause significant damage to many other "uninvolved" areas, including the country that uses these weapons.
Ozone weapon associated with the use of means and methods for artificial destruction of the ozone layer over selected areas of enemy territory. The artificial formation of such "windows" will create conditions for the penetration of hard water to the surface of the earth. ultraviolet radiation Sun with a wavelength of about 0.3 micrometers. It has a detrimental effect on the cells of living organisms, cellular structures and the mechanism of heredity. Skin burns are caused, the number of cancer diseases increases sharply. It is believed that the first noticeable result of the impact will be a decrease in the productivity of animals and agricultural plants. Violation of the processes occurring in the ozonosphere may also affect the heat balance of these regions and the weather. A decrease in the ozone content will lead to a decrease in the average temperature and an increase in humidity, which is especially dangerous for areas of unstable, critical agriculture. In this area, the ozone weapon merges with the climatic one.
2. The destructive effect of radiological weapons based on the use radioactive substances. It can be pre-cooked powder mixtures or liquid solutions substances containing radioactive isotopes of chemical elements with specially selected radiation intensity and half-life. Main source production of radioactive substances can serve waste generated during the operation of nuclear reactors. They can also be obtained by irradiating pre-prepared substances in them. However, the operation of such weapons is complicated by a significant radioactive background, which creates the danger of exposure of service personnel. Other likely a variant of radiological weapons is the use of radioactive substances, formed directly at the moment of the explosion of a thermonuclear charge. The American project was based on this principle. "cobalt bomb". To do this, it was supposed to create a shell of natural cobalt around the thermonuclear charge. As a result of its irradiation with fast neutrons, the cobalt-60 isotope is formed, which has a high intensity of y-radiation with a half-life - 5.7 years. The radiation intensity of this isotope is higher than that of radium. Falling out after an explosion on the ground, it creates strong radioactive radiation.
3. At the heart of the damaging effect RF weapons located exposure of the human body to electromagnetic (radiation) radiation. Studies have shown that even with sufficiently low intensity irradiation, various disturbances and changes occur in it. In particular, the detrimental effect of radiofrequency radiation on the disruption of the rhythm of the heart, up to its stop, has been established. There were two types of impact: thermal and non-thermal. thermal exposure causes overheating of tissues and organs and with a sufficiently long radiation causes pathological changes in them. Non-thermal exposure mainly leads to functional disorders in various organs of the human body, especially in the cardiovascular and nervous systems. A similar thing happened in Russia in June 1997 at the federal nuclear center Arzamas-16 (Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod region), where there was a strong release of neutron radiation. As this case showed, the most powerful ionization was caused on the critical assembly, which led to the death of the operator.
4. Laser weapons is a powerful emitter of electromagnetic energy in the optical range - quantum generators. Striking d e The effect of a laser beam is achieved as a result of heating materials to high temperatures, an object causing them to melt or even evaporate, damaging the sensitive elements of weapons,
blinding the organs of vision of a person and inflicting thermal burns on him skin. The action of laser radiation is characterized by suddenness, secrecy, high accuracy, straightness of propagation and practical instantaneous action. It is possible to create laser combat systems for various purposes, ground, sea, air and space-based, with different power, range, rate of fire, ammunition. The objects of destruction of such complexes can be the manpower of the enemy, his optical systems, aircraft and missiles of various types.
5. Infrasonic weapons is based on the use of sound waves with a frequency of several hertz, which can have a strong effect on the human body. Infrasonic vibrations that are below the level of perception of the human ear can cause a state of anxiety, despair and even horror.
According to some experts, the impact of infrasonic radiation on people leads to epilepsy, and with a significant radiation power, death can be achieved. Death can occur as a result of a sharp violation of body functions, damage to the cardiovascular system, destruction of blood vessels and internal organs. By selecting a certain frequency of radiation, it is possible, for example, to provoke massive manifestations of myocardial infarction in the personnel of the troops and the population of the enemy. The ability of infrasonic vibrations to penetrate concrete and metal barriers should be taken into account, which undoubtedly increases the interest of military specialists in these weapons.
6. Genetic weapons.
The development of molecular genetics has led to the possibility of creating a genetic weapon based on the implementation of DNA recombination (deoxyribonucleic acid) - carrier of genetic information. With the help of genetic engineering methods, it was possible to carry out the separation of genes and their recombination with the formation of recombinant molecules. DNA. Based on these methods, it is possible carry out gene transfer with the help of microorganisms ensure the production of potent toxins of human, animal or plant origin. By combining bacteriological and toxic agents, it is possible to create biological weapons with a modified genetic apparatus. By introducing genetic material with pronounced toxic properties into virulent bacteria or viruses, it is possible to obtain a bacteriological weapon capable of causing a lethal outcome in a short time.
7. The study of the natural and genetic differences between people, their fine biochemical structure showed the possibility of creating the so-called ethnic weapons. Such a weapon in the near future will be able to affect one ethnic group of the population and be neutral towards others. This selectivity will be based on differences in blood groups, skin pigmentation, genetic structure. Research in the field of ethnic weapons can be aimed at identifying the genetic vulnerability of certain ethnic groups, and at the development of special agents designed to effectively use this ability. According to the calculations of one of the leading American physicians, R. Hamerschlag, ethnic weapons can defeat 25 - 30% of the population of the country that was attacked. Recall that such population losses in a nuclear war are considered "unacceptable", in which the country is defeated.
8. The damaging factor of beam weapons is pointed beam, charged or neutral high-energy particles - electrons, protons, neutral hydrogen atoms. The powerful flow of energy carried by the particles can create targets in the material - intense thermal impact, shock mechanical loads, destroy molecular structure human body, initiate X-ray emission. The use of beam weapons is distinguished by the instantaneous and suddenness of the damaging effect. The limiting factor in the range of this weapon is the particles of gases in the atmosphere, with atoms of which the accelerated particles interact. The most probable objects of destruction may be manpower, electronic equipment, various systems of military equipment, ballistic and cruise missiles, and spacecraft.
9. Theoretical studies in the field of nuclear physics have shown the fundamental possibility of the existence antimatter. Existence antiparticles (like positrons) has been proven experimentally. When interacting particles and antiparticles significant energy is released in the form of photons. According to calculations, the interaction of 1 milligram of antiparticles with matter releases energy equivalent to the explosion of several tens of tons of trinitrotoluene. At present, the process of not only obtaining, but also preserving antiparticles is very complicated, and the creation of weapons of mass destruction based on antimatter in the foreseeable future is unlikely.
10. In recent years, there has been a wide interest in research in the field of bioenergy, associated with the so-called human paranormal abilities. Work is underway to create various technical devices based on the energy of the biofield, i.e. specific field that exists around
living organism. Research on the possibility of creating psychotropic weapons on this basis is being carried out in several areas:
1) extrasensory perception - the perception of the properties of objects, their state, sounds, smells, thoughts of people without contact with them and without the use of ordinary sense organs;
2) telepathy - transmission of thoughts at a distance;
3) clairvoyance (far-sightedness) - observation of an object (target) that is outside the limits of visual communication;
4) mental influence causing their movement or destruction;
5) telekinesis - mental movement of a person whose body remains at rest.
11. In non-contact wars, weapons based on new physical principles can be used. - acoustic weapons. In this type of damaging effect, it is likely that the energy of acoustic radiation of a certain frequency will be used. Most likely, it can be used if it is necessary to simultaneously incapacitate the service personnel of a specific military or economic facility. The carriers of such weapons can be ground, sea, air and space precision weapons. These weapons can be delivered in the required quantities by high-precision cruise and ballistic missiles and dropped by parachute to the ground in the area of objects or penetrate inside the objects to be destroyed. Such a defeat can cause demoralization and even death of all living things, disrupt or disable those radio-electronic means that work on the principle of receiving and converting acoustic waves, destroy individual elements of certain types of weapons, military equipment and objects.
12. ONPP will receive significant development electromagnetic damage.
It will be a type of damaging effect on objects, targets due to the energy of electromagnetic radiation of various wavelengths and power levels generated by radio frequency and laser weapons, electronic countermeasures (REW) using a conventional or high-altitude nuclear explosion. Pulse flows of radio frequency electromagnetic radiation of microsecond duration and with an energy density of the order of several tens of joules per square meter can cause functional damage to electronics. Such a weapon, depending on the radiation power, will be capable of:
▪suppress almost all classical radio-electronic means (RES) operating on the principle of receiving and converting electromagnetic waves;
▪cause melting or evaporation of metal in printed circuit boards of electronics, weapons and military equipment or cause structural changes in electronic components of military equipment;
▪influence human behavior;
▪destroy living cells, disrupt biological and physiological processes in the functions of living organisms.
The carriers of such weapons can be, as already mentioned, special ground, sea, air, and later space-based cruise missiles used along extremely low flight paths, and numerous long-range unmanned vehicles.
13. Rapid development mass media, especially electronic ones, also creates objective prerequisites for their use for military purposes. It can be predicted that in the future the battlefield will increasingly move into the area of intellectual influence on the consciousness and feelings of millions of people. By placing space relays in near-Earth orbits, an aggressor country will be able to develop and, under certain conditions, implement an information war scenario against a particular state, trying to blow it up from within. Provocative programs will not be designed for the mind, but, above all, for the emotions of people, on their sensual sphere, which is much more effective, especially given the low political culture of the population, poor awareness and unpreparedness for such a war. The dosed presentation of ideologically and psychologically processed provocative material, the skillful alternation of true and false information, the skillful montage of details of various fictitious explosive situations can turn into a powerful means of psychological offensive. It can be especially effective against a country in which there is social tension, interethnic, religious or class conflicts. Carefully selected information, falling on such fertile soil, can cause panic, riots, pogroms in a short time destabilize the political situation in the country. Thus, it is possible to force the enemy to capitulate without the use of traditional weapons.
14. Thermal (thermal) defeat - this is a long-known type of damaging effect on objects, targets with the help of weapons that use thermal energy and, above all, open fire. Having a physico-chemical nature, thermal injury is an integral part of both physical and chemical types of injury, and it will certainly remain in the armed struggle of the future. The carriers of such weapons will be high-precision cruise missiles of various bases. Thermal weapons will be represented by well-known in the ground forces flamethrowers, incendiary ammunition and fire bombs, using incendiary substances, but it is to be expected that through the use of new thermal chemicals, their capabilities will increase significantly.
In wars and armed struggle of the future, it is quite likely that radiation, electromagnetic and acoustic ONPP will also be widely used. The impact of the use of this weapon will be carried out by laser, radio frequency, infrasonic radiation, as well as electromagnetic and acoustic interference, which now have the common name electronic interference. This weapon can be used both for destruction and for short-term incapacitation with the help of interference from aerospace and naval weapons.
Unconventional weapons are designed primarily to deprive the enemy of the possibility of active resistance. They are based on the latest achievements and discoveries in the field of fundamental and applied sciences. Since they use physical principles that have not yet been applied in mass weapons, they are sometimes called "a weapon based on new physical principles". There are many varieties of such weapons: acoustic, beam, laser, plasma, accelerator (beam), X-ray, radiological, proton, gamma laser, radio frequency, electromagnetic, thermal, scalar...
This is not a complete list of everything that has been put into operation or is under development in recent years:
sound generators that cause unbearable pain; strobe lights that cause nausea; disorienting lasers;
blinding flashes;
isotropic radiators (a type of weapon that throws out laser beams that blind people and optical instruments);
laser beams that burst eyeballs;
ultrasonic beams so powerful that they can destroy buildings, as well as the internal organs of enemy soldiers;
sleeping pills that can put entire armies to sleep; a wide range of hallucinogens added to drinking water systems;
topographic images that disorientate or morally suppress the enemy;
infra-low frequency generators that can project voices into a person's brain or destroy their immune system;
gases that do not kill, but incapacitate the enemy; electromagnetic pistols;
infrared transmitters that can set buildings on fire; aerosols that make metals brittle;
super-corrosive substances - hundreds of times stronger than ordinary toxic substances; non-nuclear electromagnetic pulses capable of
blow up ammunition depots and disable electronics, etc.
Weapons based on new physical principles can be used both for lethal destruction and for short-term incapacitation of enemy manpower (non-lethal weapons). It can be effectively used against weapons and military equipment, important economic and infrastructure facilities, to destroy the information and energy space of the enemy, to disturb the mental state of its population.
Geospheric, biospheric and psychospheric weapons
The very fact of the presence of geospheric (geophysical) weapons has not yet been officially recognized by any country. However, it really exists, and the scale and consequences of its use are such that geophysical weapons can rightfully be called a global weapon of mass destruction, and even an “apocalyptic weapon”.
24 Tkachenko T.E. Dept. 12 "Medico-biological and environmental protection"
liptic." Unlike weapons of past centuries, they affect not only individual zones of military conflicts, but the entire sphere of human habitation - from the earth's interior to outer space. To defeat the enemy, it often uses natural phenomena and processes. Artificially generated, they cause natural disasters, provoke local climate changes, destroy sources and reserves of natural resources, affect flora and fauna. The Earth itself becomes a weapon.
Today, geophysical weapons have a fairly wide range of energy sources and mechanisms for influencing the natural environment. Depending on the environment in which this weapon is used, the following types can be conditionally distinguished: lithospheric (tectonic, geological), hydrospheric (hydrological), meteorological (weather), ozone (biocosmic), ionospheric and magnetospheric ( geocosmic, climatic) weapons.
Biospheric weapons can be conditionally divided into two categories. The first category includes environmental weapons. It is intended not so much to defeat a person, but to selectively influence the biological environment of his habitat - flora and fauna. The second category is biological weapons. It directly or indirectly affects human physiology, disrupting its normal functioning. At the same time, it can damage the human body both directly and indirectly - slowly destroying its vitality, undermining protection from infectious and meteorological factors. The consequence of the use of such weapons may be the gradual death of people or their long-term incapacitation. The use of biospheric weapons may result in spontaneous demoralization of the enemy population, caused by widespread outbreaks of infectious diseases. Modern varieties of biological weapons include genetic, ethnic and racial weapons.
Psychospheric weapon. The fight against the enemy is conducted in different ways: military, political, economic. The most effective and dangerous weapon has always been considered to be one that changes the mind of the enemy, makes him inadequately perceive reality, unconsciously make wrong decisions, and commit disastrous actions for himself. The traditional methods of information-psychological warfare have been supplemented by a wide range of new means. They are able to purposefully and effectively influence the consciousness, will, feelings and moods of people, significantly weakening the morale of the enemy, disorganizing his system of state and military administration.
In addition to traditional information and psychological means, the arsenal of today's psychospheric weapons includes: psychotropic (drug) weapons (neuroleptics, psychedelics, drugs), psychotronic (technogenic and psychogenic effects on the brain), virtual and cybernetic (computer viruses that destroy software and information in databanks) weapons, as well as non-traditional types of psi-weapons (parapsychological, psychic, remote, magic, techno-magic). In the struggle to achieve superiority in the spiritual sphere, as a particularly promising and just beginning to develop, is the noospheric weapon. Using the latest techniques and hardware, this weapon allows you to influence the individual and collective consciousness through the information field of the planet. It is the possession of the technologies of psychospheric warfare that will become the decisive factor in achieving victory over the enemy.
One of the directions of the next revolution in military affairs is the development weapons of non-lethal (non-lethal) action. The essence of this weapon, which is created on the basis of a variety of chemical, biological, physical and other principles, is that it should minimize the loss of manpower and material assets of the enemy.
Some of its species cause mass diseases of people (often fatal), irreversible damage to the eyes and internal organs, leading to lifelong disability.
Another feature of this weapon is a strong psychological impact on the enemy, not only at the time of use, but even just in anticipation of such use. Means of non-lethal impact are recommended to be used not only during the offensive or in defense, but also during special operations: to disable enemy command posts, rear facilities and communications. The same weapon is recommended as a police weapon in interethnic and other conflicts, to fight terrorism, smuggling, and drug trafficking.
In addition to biospheric, geospheric and psychospheric weapons, non-traditional weapons based on new physical principles include acoustic, beam,
electromagnetic, scalar, chemical and biological new generation, cyber weapons.
Acoustic weapons. One of the most promising types of non-lethal weapons is acoustic weapons. It covers three characteristic frequency ranges: the infrasonic region below 20 Hz (hertz), the audible region from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and the ultrasonic region above 20 kHz. The object of influence is the human body, as well as radio-electronic means that operate on the principle of receiving and converting acoustic waves.
There are several main ways to use infrasonic weapons: infrasound generators operating with “directional beams” (combat sound guns), infrasonic “bombs” dropped on the enemy, as well as devices that form acoustic “bullets” emitted by large-diameter antennas. To generate infrasound, it is also possible to use jet engines equipped with resonators with sound reflectors.
In parallel with combat acoustic weapons, non-lethal acoustic weapons are being developed for installation with an adjustable frequency on helicopters, as well as acoustic beam weapons operating on the basis of a thermoacoustic resonator with a frequency of 20 to 340 Hz.
Ultrasonic weapons have specific capabilities. With short pulses, cavitation may result in the formation of bubbles and tissue micro-ruptures. This weapon allows you to disable the psyche and nervous system of a person, completely deprive a person of memory. It is used for remote zombification of a person, including covert.
Electromagnetic weapons include weapons in which a magnetic field is used to impart initial velocity to the projectile, or the energy of electromagnetic radiation is used directly to hit the target. Designed to deprive the enemy of combat capability without destroying him physically.
Pulse weapon. This is a kind of remote electric shocker. His task
- immobilize the enemy or disable equipment with an electric shock at a great distance. Such weapons, in particular, include a new type of indi-
visual weapons - tetanizers, or tetanizers, which make it possible to temporarily immobilize a person or animals at a distance of up to 100 m. In the future, it is planned to increase the range of destruction of living objects to two or more kilometers. Not only a powerful electrical impulse can be dangerous, but also an aiming laser beam. Safe on open skin, it can seriously damage the cornea of the victim's eye.
Artificial lightning. Recently, a new variety of sabotage electromagnetic weapons has been emerging. It is designed to hit targets with artificially initiated lightning.
Electromagnetic ammunition. Work is underway to create and improve disposable EMP munitions based on cruise missiles and guided bombs. They are planned to be used not only as a means of the “first day of the war” (to paralyze air defense systems, control and communications), but also as a way to destroy security systems and access to bunkers where chemical and biological munitions are stored.
Radio frequency (microwave) weapons. American specialists consider generators of microwave oscillations to be one of the most promising types of electromagnetic weapons. Microwave radiation generators are designed for remote impact on large crowds of people. Microwave radiation can affect not only humans, but also equipment. Combat generators of microwave radiation installed in space or on aircraft can be used both to destroy space and air targets, and to destroy ground targets (weapon models, ammunition depots, fuel and lubricants). By concentrating a beam of millimeter (EHF) waves on such objects, it is possible to create a thermal clot sufficient to ignite combustible objects and explosives.
The damaging effect of a beam weapon is based on the use of sharply directed beams of electromagnetic energy or a concentrated beam of elementary particles accelerated to high speeds. Beam weapons can cause not only thermal effects, but also radiation damage. The main advantage of such a weapon is the secrecy of its use (the absence of external signs in the form of fire, smoke, sound), high accuracy, straightness of propagation, almost instantaneous achievement of the target, since electromagnetic radiation propagates at the speed of light.
The main types of beam weapons are laser, x-ray, gamma-laser and beam (accelerator) weapons.
Laser weapons. Their principle of operation is based on the emission of electromagnetic waves in the optical range by a powerful quantum generator (laser). The energy emitted by a laser propagates in space in the form of a narrow beam with a high degree of concentration. The damaging effect of a laser beam is based primarily on the effect of high-temperature heating. It causes melting and even evaporation of materials, burning fuel tanks, damaging electronics and supersensitive elements, blinding the organs of vision and causing thermal burns to a person.
Gamma laser weapons are still under development. Unlike conventional optical lasers, a gamma laser (grazer) does not generate light, but gamma rays, which are superior in power to X-rays. The principle of operation of gamma lasers is similar to lasers in the optical range, but their device is much more complicated.
X-ray weapon. Interest in X-ray weapons as a possible means of destroying manpower and equipment is quite large. First, the energy of X-ray radiation is hundreds and thousands of times greater than that of lasers in the optical range. Secondly, it is capable of penetrating through considerable thicknesses of various materials without being reflected from obstacles like laser beams.
Accelerator (beam) weapon. The damaging factor of accelerating weapons is a sharply directed beam of charged (electrons, protons) or neutral particles saturated with energy, accelerated by a powerful generator to high speeds. To increase the damaging effect, it is supposed to inflict not single, but group strikes of 10-20 pulses each. A powerful flow of energy hits the target with a strong mechanical impact, as well as intense thermal effects. In doing so, it produces a brief x-ray emission. The objects of destruction can be hulls and electronic equipment of space vehicles, ballistic and cruise missiles, various systems of military equipment. With the help of a powerful electron flow, it will be possible to cause a remote detonation of ammunition, to melt the nuclear charges of warheads. This weapon can also be used against manpower.
A variation of the accelerating weapon is the plasma weapon. Its main means of destruction is a clot of plasma - a plasmoid, which is a cloud of heated ionized gas. A typical example of a plasma cloud is ball lightning. A special generator “throws” a high-temperature plasma bunch into the air channel, preheated by microwave or laser radiation, which, at a speed of about one fifth of the speed of light, overtakes and hits the target. In case of a miss or absence of an obstacle on its way, the plasmoid dissipates without a trace in the air.
Today, intensive work is underway to create a new generation of weapons based on artificial proton decay (IPD). Any substance can serve as fuel for this proton weapon. Only a quarter of a gram of it is capable of releasing energy equal to the explosion of 25,000 tons of TNT. This is more than the power of nuclear bombs dropped by the Americans on Japanese cities in 1945. Based on the IPR principle, the developers hope to create generators of any power and purpose: from individual combat emitters to strategic space systems with any accuracy of action. This will be a revolution in military technology: the power of IPR-based beam weapons theoretically has no limits.
Scalar weapons based on the use of multi-element translators, which make it possible to convert electromagnetic energy into the energy of a scalar wave, can also be attributed to a variety of electric weapons.
Non-traditional weapons include:
radiological weapons based on the use of military radioactive substances in the form of powders or solutions of substances;
thermal (thermal) weapons that use high-temperature incendiaries delivered to targets by high-precision weapons as a damaging factor;
Graphite bombs equipped with conductive filaments made of a carbon-based composite material are effective for disabling power facilities. When hit on high-voltage lines, substations, these threads cause multiple short circuits, significant damage to equipment and fires;
heliophysical weapons that create a “plasma channel” in the atmosphere and stratosphere, through which destructive solar radiation penetrates to the Earth's surface;
cybernetic weapons that strike at the computer networks and information systems of the enemy with the help of malicious programs (viruses) and hacker attacks;
biological weapons of a new generation, which accelerate the destruction of structural and other materials (changes the structure of metals and alloys, rubbers, polymers, transforms fuels and lubricants into a jelly-like mass);
chemical weapons of a new generation that change the structure and properties of metals and alloys, change the combustion parameters, and also cause a decrease in the combat effectiveness and mobility of manpower (super lubricants that turn highways, railroad tracks and runways into super slippery rollers; adhesive substances that instantly glue weapon parts and aggregates of machines, synthetic foams with the highest stickiness, "superfog", which is an absolutely opaque aerosol, impenetrable to light and heat radiation and rendering powerless any optical devices and sights).
Biospheric weapons can be conditionally divided into two categories. The first can be attributed to environmental weapons. It is intended not so much to defeat a person, but to selectively influence the biological environment of his habitat - flora and fauna. The natural resources vital for humans, which it strikes, are very limited and practically non-renewable.
The second category is biological weapons. It directly or indirectly affects human physiology, disrupting its normal functioning. Modern varieties of biological weapons are genetic, ethnic and racial weapons.
Ecological weapons are considered the last word in the development of non-conventional weapons. It can cause truly catastrophic changes in the biosphere. Artificial soil erosion, the death of flora and fauna can not only leave the enemy without food, but also lead to a catastrophic change in his habitat. The chemical, incendiary and biological agents currently at the disposal of the military are capable of completely destroying the surface fertile soil layer and causing irreparable damage to flora and fauna over vast territories.
Genetic weapon. Today, this term is understood as substances of chemical or biological origin that can cause mutations (structural changes) in genes in the human body, accompanied by a violation of health or programmed behavior of people.
Ethnic weapons are defined today as weapons designed to defeat certain ethnic and racial groups of people through targeted chemical or biological effects on cells, tissues, organs, systems of the human body that have certain intraspecific group hereditary characteristics.
The danger of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and transgenic products lies not only in their possible "combat" programming, but also in the principles of the human genetic mechanism that have not been fully elucidated. Now
it is clear that the genes in the body of different ethnic groups interact with each other, and even more so with foreign genes.
The objects of influence of ethnic weapons can be animals, plants, soil microflora, specific to a particular region. In the organisms of people permanently residing in a certain territory, genetically determined biochemical features are inherited. They depend on climatic factors and habitual water, infectious conditions and especially on traditional food. Genetic modification of the soil, plants and animals used for food will definitely affect the health of local residents. Such "ethnic" impact on the environment is now seen as a weapon of sterilization (deprivation of the ability to bear children) and a means of genocide.
In geophysical (geospheric, ecological) weapons - weapons in which the object and means of influence is the natural (geophysical) environment: hydrosphere, lithosphere, surface layers of the atmosphere, ozonosphere, magnetosphere, ionosphere, near-Earth outer space.
They are trying to make weapons of mass destruction:
active processes in the earth's crust (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tectonic shifts);
fury of the water element (floods, tsunamis, storms, mudflows); atmospheric disasters (hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, tornadoes, showers);
destructive cosmic radiation that breaks through the ozone layer and burns out biological life on Earth;
the general state of the climate in a certain area (droughts, frosts, soil erosion).
Depending on the environment in which geophysical processes take place, there are types of geospheric weapons:
lithospheric (tectonic) weapons (means of artificial initiation of destructive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other catastrophic processes in the earth's crust);
hydrospheric weapons (means of influencing the hydrosphere in order to release colossal water energy for destructive purposes);
meteorological (meteorological, weather, tropospheric) weapons (means of direct and indirect active influence on the lower layers of the Earth's atmosphere with the aim of causing damage to the enemy);
ozonospheric (ozone) weapons (means for destroying the protective ozone layer located in the stratosphere at altitudes from 10 to 50 km);
ionospheric and magnetospheric weapons (means of influence for military purposes on the local or global climate of the planet, on technical means and the mental state of people).
Lithospheric or tectonic (seismic, geological) weapons are based on the release of energy from the solid "shell" of our planet - the lithosphere. Its purpose is to artificially cause destructive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, displacement of lithospheric plates and geological formations at any given point on the planet.
Hydrospheric weapons are based on the use of the colossal energy of the hydrosphere for military purposes. The most powerful damaging factors of these weapons are artificially initiated strong waves (such as tsunamis), underwater turbidity and
mudflows, gas hydrate eruptions and other hydrophysical phenomena. Artificial descent of mountain glaciers and snow avalanches, mudflows, breaking of dams, dams - this is also an arsenal of hydrospheric weapons.
Meteorological weapons are called differently: atmospheric, meteorological, meteospheric, weather. Its essence is the same - in a deliberate impact on the weather formation processes occurring in the lower part of the Earth's gaseous shell - the atmosphere. First of all, meteorological weapons, weather weapons are the most studied type of geophysical weapons today. Sometimes it is called climatic. Unlike climate weapons, weather weapons are much more localized and short-term. His sphere is atmospheric disasters: showers, tornadoes, tornadoes, typhoons. Influencing atmospheric processes, it can, although temporarily, but significantly affect agricultural production, the development of the economic and political situation in the country against which it is applied. The zone of "responsibility" of climate weapons is larger - the general state of the climate in a certain territory, the organization of droughts, prolonged cooling, - long-term and in large areas of soil erosion.
The next use of meteorological weapons is to change the transparency of the atmosphere in the combat area. By creating poor visibility, you can hide the redeployment of your troops from the enemy. The creation of fog or high clouds over one's positions significantly weakens the capabilities of the enemy's satellite, aviation, and optical reconnaissance. This improves the possibility of sudden strikes, as well as the conditions for covert penetration into the camp of the enemy by their sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
Ozone weapon. The destruction of the ozone layer over its territory can also have a serious and long-term impact on the enemy. Local depletion of the ozonosphere will upset the heat balance in the attacked territory. This is dangerous for areas of unstable, critical agriculture. Any change in temperature
"controlled" by ozone, will lead to disruption of seasonal cycles of vegetation, waterlogging of the area or - to the onset of deserts.
Ionospheric weapons have become the largest in terms of geography of application and global consequences. And the most inhuman in its ruthlessness and cruelty of all that mankind has used in its history. The weapon itself, in the usual sense of the word, begins to disappear - the Earth itself becomes a weapon.
Magnetosphere weapons. Like natural plasmoids in the ionosphere, it is proposed to create "combat plasmoids" in the nodes of the magnetosphere tension, forming in them the so-called "magnetospheric lenses". Thanks to a special "pumping" in these nodes, it seems possible to significantly increase the directed magnetodynamic stresses, to cause "directional magnetic storms" with all the negative consequences, amplified many times over. External (solar and cosmic) energy will begin to whip the breakdown into the “combat plasmoid” formed in place. Neither the ionosphere nor the atmosphere can withstand such a giant flow, and the destructive solar wind will reach the Earth's surface. This will be the "apocalyptic" weapon.
3.2. Means of non-lethal destruction of people25
A non-lethal weapon, or non-lethal weapon, is a weapon that, in normal use, should not cause death or serious injury to those against whom it is directed. The main purpose of using such weapons is to neutralize, not defeat, the enemy; damage to the health and physical condition of people should be minimized.
Weapons of non-lethal (non-lethal) action, conditionally called “humane” in the media, are designed to temporarily incapacitate the enemy’s manpower, without causing permanent damage to people’s health.
This category includes an extensive complex of mechanical, chemical, electrical and light-sound devices used by law enforcement agencies and special services to provide a psychophysical, traumatic and restraining effect on the offender, temporarily incapacitate him, as well as army special forces - to capture the enemy alive .
The use of non-lethal weapons is designed to minimize the possibility of unintentional casualties. It is impossible to completely exclude this, but such cases are extremely rare. The most typical causes that can lead to the death of a person when using non-lethal weapons are accidental shots, ricochets, inept handling of weapons and their illegal use, as well as the presence of hidden medical problems in the victim.
Since different parts of the human body differ in their degree of vulnerability, and people themselves differ in physical condition, any weapon that can incapacitate is likely to be capable of becoming a murder weapon under certain circumstances. The use of plastic, rubber bullets and other “non-lethal” ammunition can cause contusions, rib fractures, brain concussion, loss of eyes, superficial damage to various organs and skin, skull damage, ruptures of the heart, kidneys, liver, internal hemorrhages, and even of death.
Traumatic cartridges with rubber or plastic bullets intended for use in police or military firearms.
Traumatic weapons specially designed for firing traumatic ammunition: for example, OSA and Makarych pistols.
Water cannons are devices that have a physical impact with jets of water under high pressure. As a rule, they do not cause any serious injuries, but they can cause hypothermia, and at sub-zero temperatures, frostbite, including death. They can be built on the basis of improvised means (in particular, fire hoses). They are one of the most common and popular means of riot control.
Tear gas, "stinky" charge, pepper gas, psychotropic toxic substances - chemicals that cause irritation of the organs of perception (lacrimation, pain, "ringing in the ears"), respiratory organs (cough, suffocation), skin (burning, inflammation), nervous system and psyche (hallucinations, loss of consciousness, feeling of horror and fear, panic) making it impossible to continue conscious activity in the affected area. Depending on the properties of the mixture, it can be
25 Mukhin V.I. Dept. 31 "Information systems and technologies"
hay to chemical weapons banned by the UN. Such devices can be used remotely, either as special shotgun cartridges or as stand-alone weapons such as the FN 303 (non-lethal self-loading pneumatic weapon developed by Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal; FN 303 charges are destroyed on impact, thus thereby eliminating the risk of penetrating injury).
Sonic weapons - the principle of operation is based on the emission of sound and infrasonic waves of certain frequencies. A representative of this type of weapon can be considered LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device). Developed by the American company American Technology Corporation for use by the military and police. This sonic cannon is capable of transmitting clear warnings over many hundreds of meters, increasing the volume of transmitted commands to an unbearable level, and thus influencing the behavior of the crowd, the commands of enemy ships, groups of terrorists in buildings, etc. Also, the so-called . shooting megaphone - outwardly really resembles a megaphone, inside which a person can enter. Powerful pulses with a frequency of 2 to 3 thousand hertz, a power of 150 decibels. A sound of this magnitude could well produce permanent hearing damage. People who are close to this gun lose their temper, fear, dizziness, and nausea appear. At a close distance - a mental disorder, the destruction of internal organs. They are used to disperse the crowd, cause panic in military units, protect objects from strangers.
A microwave weapon disrupts the functioning of the brain and central nervous system, a person hears non-existent noise and whistle. One of the representatives of this type of weapon - Active Denial System (Active Rejection System) was developed for the American army and is a powerful microwave emitter. The ADS device emits directed energy in the millimeter wave range, which has a short-term shock effect on people at a distance of up to 500 m. affected areas (the so-called "Goodbye effect").
Flash-noise ammunition - made on the basis of burning pyrotechnics.
Thermal gun - in seconds heats the body to a temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius; the person against whom this weapon was used experiences an unbearable burning sensation and a desire to run away
Foam gun - a device that shoots a special fast-hardening and enveloping foam; soldiers quickly lose not only mobility, but also hearing and vision.
Viscous/slippery polymers are substances that during polymerization form a viscous or, conversely, very slippery film on the surface of objects.
Laser - its pulses disorient the enemy and lead to temporary blindness. The use of lasers as a weapon designed to cause permanent blindness is prohibited by the UN.
3.3. Information and psychological weapons26
The essence and content of the concept of "non-traditional means of warfare"
We live in a world of systems - biological, social, physical, cybernetic, organizational, ecological, social, etc.
The central link in any complex system is the control mechanism. Management in human society is understood as a method of influence that encourages people to orderly behavior, to perform the required actions.
actions, to the observance (violation) of socio-economic laws.
The goal of management is to force an individual, team or society to perform external, i.e. a task or programs set by someone. K. Blakemore in the book "Mechanics of the Mind" wrote that "the dream of every tyrant leader or good prophet (democrat or totalitarian) is to streamline the behavior of his people."
Information management is understood as such management when the control action is informational in nature, i.e. the subject of management is given an information picture, focusing on which, he chooses a line of behavior.
A significant increase in the role of information management is due to the following circumstances:
firstly, the features of the influence of information and control influences on the basis and superstructure of society are studied. The result was the installation of the possibility of changing the social system not through a change in its basis, but through a superstructure by the forces of the intelligentsia, which commits the so-called “molecular” aggression in the minds of society and destroys its old cultural core.
The essence of the installation is as follows:
information and control impact should not be carried out in the forehead. Not storming the basis of society, but through the superstructure, committing "molecular aggression" in the mind and destroying the "cultural core" of society.
A. Gramsci wrote: “If you confuse people, undermine cultural foundations - take everyone lukewarm, redistribute property and power as you like”;
secondly, they have reached a high level of knowledge about the impact of information on a person and society;
thirdly, there was a need to be able to influence the behavior of the masses. Management of people and society pursues different goals depending on the goals of the ruling elite, on the state of society and the state. The following modes of information management in the state (society) can be distinguished:
purposeful change in the social system;
ensuring survival in critical situations (war, crisis, major natural disaster) and restoring a steady state;
stabilization and correction of the main indicators (parameters) of the life of society in the normal course of events;
transition, rather smooth, to a new state when the possibilities of existence in the previous state are exhausted;
fourthly, the role of technical means in the production and transmission of information has increased.
Modern civilization was created by the printing press, which made information the property of many, and reading a creative process.
Major General of the Engineering and Technical Service I. ANUREYEV, Professor, Doctor of Military Sciences
Scientific and technological progress has always had a decisive influence on the methods of warfare and its nature. But this role of his has never manifested itself so quickly, so comprehensively and with such consequences as in our days. Scientific achievements and discoveries have led to the creation of such powerful means of combat that have changed the views that existed for a long time on the role of various types of armed forces in war, forced to reconsider the basic provisions of tactics, operational art and strategy.
What scientific achievements of our time have had such a decisive impact on military affairs? These should primarily include the discovery of ways to use nuclear energy, the development of rocket technology, mathematics and computer technology, radio electronics, automation, chemistry, metallurgy, and instrumentation. A special place belongs to physics, which must also be included in this list. Not to mention the fact that military affairs owe it the appearance of nuclear weapons, the use of various physical laws is the basis for the creation of all models of military equipment and weapons without exception.
As is known, physics studies the most general forms of motion of matter - mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, and others, and their mutual transformations. At present, this science includes sections: mechanics, molecular physics, the doctrine of oscillations and waves, the doctrine of electricity, the theory of the electromagnetic field, optics, nuclear physics. The boundaries between physics and some other natural sciences are not sharply delineated. Recently, vast border areas have appeared between physics and chemistry, astronomy, earth science and other areas of knowledge.
The successes of physics and chemistry, along with the successes of other natural sciences, had an exceptionally great influence on the development of the materialistic worldview. Dialectical materialism made the widest possible use of physical discoveries to substantiate its propositions.
The impetus for the development of physics, like all other sciences, was the demands of practice that arose in the process of the historical development of social formations. Major discoveries of the late 17th and early 18th centuries were made under the influence of developing technology and military science.
The founder of Russian physics and chemistry, M. V. Lomonosov, closely combined scientific work with the requirements of practice. His numerous and varied researches on optics, electricity, meteorology, on the nature of liquid and solid bodies were most closely connected with practical needs. Many examples from the history of the development of physics show that often very abstract (abstract), at first glance, physical discoveries eventually found the most diverse application in technology and military affairs.
The discovery in 1831 by Faraday of electromagnetic induction created the conditions for widespread use in technology and in military affairs of electrical phenomena. Various electrical machines, means of control, control, measurements appeared, which had a revolutionary effect on technology in general and military equipment in particular.
The periodic law of D. I. Mendeleev not only played an outstanding role in the development of the theory of the atom and the nature of chemical phenomena, but also became a guide in solving a huge number of practical problems in chemistry and physics. On the basis of this law and the subsequent successes of physics, it was possible to discover elements capable of participating in fission and fusion (compound) reactions, which later led to the creation of the most powerful weapon of destruction - nuclear weapons.
In the second half of the last century, the English scientist Maxwell created a general theory of the electromagnetic field. Based on this theory, he came to the conclusion about the possibility of propagation of electromagnetic energy in the form of waves. Maxwell's discovery was used by A. S. Popov to create a radiotelegraph. This outstanding invention of the Russian scientist led to an exceptionally powerful development of troop communications, the creation of various radio engineering systems, and the emergence of radar - the technical basis of the air defense radio engineering troops. On account of radio engineering, there are many other military means that the army and navy are equipped with.
The studies of the Russian scientist A. G. Stoletov on active electric phenomena played a large role in the study of the photoelectric effect (a physical phenomenon consisting in the fact that under the action of visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, and also gamma rays on a substance, its electrical properties change ). The photoelectric effect is widely used in modern technology (television, automation, sound films, etc.). Television devices and systems have found the widest application in military affairs. They are used in control systems of various combat means, serve as information sensors, and are used to communicate space objects with the Earth.
Of great importance for military affairs is such a branch of physics as optics. It arose as a doctrine of light in connection with the study of a person's ability to see the surrounding space. Subsequently, physics expanded the field of study, and the word "light" began to be used to denote an objective phenomenon occurring outside of us, which, acting on the eye, causes a subjective visual sensation. At present, physics speaks of "light" as a wide set of objective phenomena that are uniform in nature and are reduced to the propagation of short electromagnetic waves. Thus, the electromagnetic theory of light was born. She showed the unity of light and electromagnetic phenomena and gave a new proof of the basic position of dialectical materialism about the deep interconnection of all natural phenomena.
Soviet physicists have played an important role in the development of modern optics. A. F. Ioffe and N. I. Dobronravov made a number of experiments on the elementary photoelectric effect and obtained important results confirming the law that light energy is absorbed in separate portions, the magnitude of which is proportional to the frequency of light vibrations. S. I. Vavilov developed a method that makes it possible to visually detect changes in weak light fluxes due to their discontinuous structure. D. S. Rozhdestvenskii developed the theory of spectra with his work on anomalous dispersion and on the theory of atoms.
On the basis of the achievements of science, a powerful optical industry arose. The subtlest optical phenomena studied in physics have found the widest application in technology and military affairs. These are various guidance and control systems, control and measurement devices, elements of automatic systems and much more. The scope of the achievements of optics is expanding every day.
But, of course, the development of nuclear physics was of particular importance for military affairs. The discovery of methods for the combat use of nuclear energy was the result of a long study of the objective properties of the nature around us, a generalization of numerous newly established facts. It became possible thanks to the achievements of modern physics, as a result of which the doctrine of the structure of the atom, radioactivity and isotopes, and artificial fission of nuclei was developed.
Let's take this example. The elementary particles that make up the nucleus of an atom move at high speeds. For example, the speed of alpha particles is 20,000 km/sec, and their kinetic energy is 200 million times greater than the energy of a gas molecule at room temperature. It is impossible to study the motion of particles with such velocities comparable to the speed of light by methods of classical mechanics. For these cases, the provisions of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics are applicable.
The most important law of the theory of relativity is the law of the relationship between mass and energy. Its essence is as follows: the internal energy of the body is equal to the rest mass multiplied by the square of the speed of light. Prior to the establishment of this law, it was possible to use only an insignificant fraction of internal energy (thermal energy, energy of chemical reactions). Achievements in the field of nuclear physics, the development of quantum mechanics (the science of the laws of motion of elementary particles) made it possible to discover and extract atomic energy. People have an almost inexhaustible supply of energy. As is known, imperialism used this outstanding achievement of physics primarily for military purposes, which forced the Soviet Union to create atomic weapons. Thus, atomic bombs based on the fission reaction of heavy nuclei of uranium-235, uranium-233 and plutonium-239 appeared in the arsenal of modern armed forces.
Following the fission reaction, a reaction was obtained for the synthesis of hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium with the transformation of their nuclei into heavy helium nuclei. Such reactions can proceed at very high temperatures, on the order of 10–15 million degrees. Similar temperatures occur during nuclear processes on the Sun and stars, which release huge thermal energy. On Earth, thermonuclear reactions are still carried out at the time of the explosion of thermonuclear bombs. Thus, another outstanding discovery of physics led to the creation of an even more powerful weapon of mass destruction - thermonuclear weapons. In our country, the most powerful thermonuclear bombs with a TNT equivalent of 50 and even 100 mgt have been created. They have colossal destructive power and can cause severe radioactive contamination over vast areas.
During the Second World War, the most common large-scale ammunition was high-explosive aerial bombs, which were equipped with about 0.5 tons of explosive - TNT. If 200 million of these bombs were placed in one place and exploded, the shock wave would be the same as the explosion of one modern thermonuclear bomb of 100 megatons. However, it must be borne in mind that in this case new powerful damage factors appear - penetrating radiation and radioactive contamination of the area. The explosion of one medium-sized thermonuclear bomb in a large industrial area with a high population density can lead, as noted in the press, to the death of 1.5 million people. Subsequently, another 0.5 million people may die from the harmful effects of radioactive contamination.
Calculations have been cited in the foreign press showing that, for example, eight thermonuclear bombs with a yield of 3-5 megatons are enough to disable West Germany.
And here is what the American scientist Pauling writes: “In total, about a billion people live in areas that are likely to be hit by strong nuclear strikes. Within 60 days of the atomic strike
500-750 million people may die.” It is difficult to say what guided Pauling in his calculations. But if he is at least half right, then this also speaks of the enormous destructive power of thermonuclear weapons.
Modern armies are now also armed with small-caliber nuclear weapons, which are fundamentally changing the nature of combat. Our army now has a large assortment of nuclear weapons. The need for such a weapon is dictated by the following circumstances. It is difficult to use high-yield nuclear charges on the battlefield. They strike large areas, and it is impossible to use them in direct contact with the enemy without the risk of hitting friendly troops.
As noted in the foreign press, nuclear charges of 100 tons or less were tested in the United States. The action of such a charge is 200 times weaker than the explosion of the bomb dropped by the Americans in 1945 over Hiroshima.
What do small-caliber nuclear weapons give tactically? The shock wave of their explosion at a small distance causes only moderate destruction of brick buildings. Light radiation can cause second-degree burns, and penetrating radiation, although it leads to radiation sickness, is not in a dangerous form.
Small-caliber nuclear munitions can be used even when friendly troops are in direct contact with the enemy. They are capable of destroying or reliably suppressing anti-tank strongholds and artillery firing positions. As a result of such strikes, gaps are formed in the enemy's defenses, which can be used by the attackers to dismember the enemy's battle formations and infiltrate into his rear. The battle takes on an exceptionally maneuverable, fleeting character.
Achievements in nuclear physics made it possible to carry out a controlled nuclear reaction. On its basis, various nuclear power plants were created. The military use of controlled nuclear reactions led primarily to the creation of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with nuclear weapons. The use of nuclear power plants on foreign boats made it possible, as noted, to increase the speed of the underwater course to 50 km / h. Atmospheric air is not needed for the operation of nuclear power plants, therefore, with their appearance, submarines became submarines in the full sense of the word. They may not float to the surface for a long time.
In the future, according to foreign experts, we should expect the use of nuclear engines on missiles, which will dramatically improve their tactical and technical properties. Nuclear power plants and nuclear power sources for spacecraft for various purposes will be of great importance.
Nuclear weapons have acquired strategic importance thanks to the creation of perfect carriers of them - missiles. Modern ballistic and global missiles are capable of delivering powerful nuclear weapons to any region of the globe. To cover a distance of, say, 10 thousand km, an intercontinental ballistic missile needs only 25-30 minutes. It is hardly possible to hide from her blow. And the Soviet global missiles completely crossed out the concept of geographical invulnerability. Their blow is inevitable. The combination of nuclear weapons and missiles determined the nature of the future war as a nuclear missile war on an intercontinental scale.
The most important discoveries and achievements of physics used in the creation of modern rocket technology include the deep development of aerodynamics, gas dynamics and rocket dynamics. At present, these scientific directions are already independent, extremely complex and voluminous sciences with many branches. But fundamentally, they all belong to the physical sciences, their foundations are laid in mechanics, a branch of physics that studies the simplest of all forms of motion - mechanical motion.
Without the development of aerodynamics, the creation of modern combat aircraft and cruise missiles would be unthinkable. The development of jet aviation became possible due to the emergence of gas dynamics, the basis of high-speed aerodynamics and the theory of jet engines. Its founder is the outstanding Russian scientist Academician S. A. Chaplygin. Back in 1902, he established the basic dependences for the movement of gases with high subsonic and supersonic velocities. The results of the achievements of gas dynamics have found practical application in the creation of modern jet aviation and rocket technology.
The flight speeds of modern military aircraft are now 2-3 times the speed of sound propagation. But, as it turned out, this is not the limit. A further increase in flight speed caused the emergence of a new branch of aerodynamics - hypersonic aerodynamics. This science will make it possible to study in detail the motion of gas at high supersonic speeds. The military use of hypersonic aerodynamics is likely to lead to the creation of new aircraft. According to foreign opinions, they can be new perfect carriers of nuclear weapons, as well as powerful means of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense.
Flights of ballistic missiles and space vehicles at altitudes of 100–150 nm in a highly rarefied atmosphere required a thorough study of the laws of motion of aircraft in conditions where gas molecules have a long mean free path, estimated at hundreds of meters and even several kilometers. It is no coincidence that experimental and theoretical aerodynamics of highly rarefied gases is rapidly developing at the present time. It makes it possible to calculate the motion parameters of ballistic missiles during their movement at the end of the active part of the trajectory and during entry into the atmosphere, to study the laws of motion of orbital aircraft, and helps to more accurately determine the lifetime of spacecraft in orbit.
When rockets and other aircraft move at high speeds in the atmosphere, even rarefied, extremely high temperatures occur, which lead to strong heating of the walls of the apparatus. The problem of "kinetic" heating is very acute in aviation and rocket technology. It is necessary to find new materials and coatings that can withstand high temperatures. The study of the movement of bodies at very high heating temperatures showed that in the so-called boundary layer (a thin layer of air near the walls of the aircraft) electromagnetic phenomena occur, which must also be taken into account. The study of electromagnetic phenomena in the boundary layer is carried out by a new branch of aerodynamics - magnetohydrodynamics.
And finally, about rocket dynamics. Its foundations were created by the outstanding Russian scientist K. E. Tsiolkovsky. In his famous work “Investigation of world spaces with rocket instruments” (1903), the great scientist established the basic laws of rocket motion and derived his famous formula for calculating the speed of a multi-stage rocket. This is currently a "desktop" formula for any rocket scientist. As a result of the development of aerodynamics, rocket dynamics and other areas of physics, the use of the achievements of chemistry, radio electronics, metallurgy, instrument making, it became possible to create samples of military rocketry. It is currently the most important weapon system.
This type of weapon is characterized by high combat effectiveness over the entire range of ranges, from several tens to several hundred kilometers. Operational-tactical missiles are reliable in operation and do not require much time to prepare for launch. They can also carry nuclear weapons. This opens up wide opportunities for destroying any enemy targets on the battlefield with nuclear strikes. The accuracy of missile guidance today is such that a missile, having flown over 12,000 km, deviates from a given point by no more than one kilometer.
In recent years, physics has also achieved a lot in the field of the theory of electricity and magnetism, the theory of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic waves, and other sections. This led to the emergence of such independent sciences as, for example, radiophysics and electronics. They have become the basis of modern achievements in the field of radio electronics, telemechanics, automation, computer technology, without which the development and use of modern military equipment is unthinkable.
The outstanding scientific achievement of the remarkable Russian scientist A. S. Popov, who discovered the principle of radio communication and the phenomenon of reflection of electromagnetic waves, the subsequent discoveries of physicists in the field of radar and radio physics of ultrashort waves led to the rapid introduction of various radio engineering and radio electronic systems in the army. They now form the basis of communication systems, night vision equipment, detection of aircraft and missiles in flight, control of the flight of cruise and ballistic missiles, and are used to interfere with enemy radio control equipment.
Radar has gained particular importance in military affairs. It has become the most important tool in creating an effective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense. Modern radars, as noted in the foreign press, are able to find a target (aircraft, missile) at a distance of 5000 km or more.
Great opportunities are opening up thanks to advances in solid state and semiconductor physics. Equipment for communication, radar, guidance becomes more reliable in operation, compact in size. Electronic devices based on semiconductors are not afraid of shocks, shaking and can last 5-10 times longer than conventional radio tubes. The equipment becomes more convenient and miniature. Already, compact semiconductor radars have appeared in the arsenal of the armies, easily carried by one or two soldiers. There are separate types of radios that can be placed in a helmet.
However, this is not all. Achievements in molecular electronics make it possible to create equipment of truly microscopic dimensions. It can be collected on special very thin films or on so-called solid circuits. They are called solid because the entire circuit of the device is hidden inside a solid substance - a crystal.
A few words about another new direction in physics - quantum radiophysics. Her successes open up ways to obtain high-intensity electromagnetic oscillations in narrow beams. Such devices are called lasers in foreign literature. According to the American press, with the help of lasers, it was possible to obtain a power of the order of 1-3 million watts in a pulse. It is estimated that laser radio stations will be capable of simultaneously transmitting thousands of television programs and telephone conversations. Some foreign experts are trying to use quantum generators to create a new type of weapon - beam, which is supposedly capable of destroying manpower and equipment.
We have examined the main directions in which physics - a science that is truly limitless in its possibilities - influences modern military affairs. As you can see, this influence is huge, and, undoubtedly, it will continuously increase. The same is true of other areas of modern science. This obliges Soviet soldiers to comprehensively study not only the type of equipment that is entrusted to them, but also master the basics of all scientific and technical knowledge related to progress in military affairs. Broad knowledge will help the soldiers to better understand their role and place as armed defenders of the motherland, to carry out tasks related to the further strengthening of the defense might of our country with great effect.
E. Batalin,
Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences
Currently, in the United States, as well as in a number of foreign countries, along with the development of traditional types of weapons and military equipment, serious attention is being paid to the creation of weapons based on new physical principles (ONFP). According to foreign experts, this is due to the fact that the effectiveness of ONPP * can be significantly higher than that of traditional weapons when performing a number of special combat missions.
The most extensive work in this direction is carried out in the United States, where the most significant successes have been achieved in the development and creation of such weapons. However, ONPP is also being developed in China, Germany, France, and Israel.
This category includes weapons based on qualitatively new or previously unused in this area of military affairs (to perform specific combat missions) physical, biological and other principles, technical solutions based on achievements in new areas of knowledge.
ONFP usually include directed energy weapons (laser, accelerator and ultra-high frequency - microwave), kinetic (rail electromagnetic gun, coaxial electromagnetic and electrothermal gun), acoustic (infrasonic), geophysical and genetic weapons.
An analysis of the R&D ongoing in the United States in the field of developing ONFP indicates that it is still very far from being implemented in specific combat samples or weapon systems ready for adoption. The final answer about the possibility or impossibility of using a certain type of ONPP can only be given by complex tests of a demonstration sample with characteristics that are closest to the parameters of a full-scale sample.
The types of ONPP already implemented in demonstration samples are characterized, as a rule, by low capabilities and high vulnerability. At the same time, they are considered by American experts as a technological reserve, which can later become the basis for the creation of highly effective weapons.
Conducting research in the field of ONPP is characterized by high risk and is associated with the need to solve problems, which can slow down the pace of research or lead, due to the impossibility of overcoming them at the current level of technology development, to the closure of the program for creating such weapons as a whole. In addition, during the development of the ONFP, as a rule, a comparative analysis is periodically carried out with competitive traditional AME systems developed to solve similar combat missions.
Laser weapon (LO)- this is a weapon that uses high-energy (power from tens of kilowatts to several megawatts) directed coherent electromagnetic radiation generated by a laser. Its damaging effect on the target is determined by the thermomechanical effect of laser radiation, which (taking into account the density of the radiation flux) can lead to temporary blinding of a person or mechanical destruction (melting or evaporation) of the body of the target object (rocket, aircraft, etc.).
American experts consider LO as one of the potentially effective means for solving the problems of anti-missile, anti-aircraft and anti-satellite defense, self-defense of aircraft from surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles and air-to-air missiles, as well as protecting ships from air, ballistic and some surface targets.
Until 2012, the US Department of Defense focused on the creation of LO systems based on chemical lasers. Installations with an average power of up to several megawatts have been developed, and demonstration samples have been built and tested. After testing, all programs for the development of such weapons implemented in the United States were closed. Solid-state lasers were taken as the basis for new laser weapons systems.
R&D on the creation of a short-range air defense system based on a high-energy solid-state laser is being carried out for the US Army by the Boeing company. It is developing a mobile system of laser air defense weapons HELMD (High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator) based on a four-axle off-road truck manufactured by Oshkosh Defense.
The modular solid-state laser with a power of 105.5 kW (consisting of seven laser solid-state amplifiers with a power of about 15 kW each), presented in 2010 by Northrop-Grumman, was chosen as the basis for creating a laser installation, capable of operating in a continuous mode. It was developed as part of the JHPSSL (Joint High Power Solid-State Laser) interspecies program.
In early 2013, Boeing installed a 10 kW laser on the HELMD. During tests conducted between November 18 and December 10, 2013, this complex hit several dozen rockets, mortar mines and artillery shells, and also proved its ability to counteract optoelectronic devices installed on UAVs. The total number of targets hit was about 90 units. The next HELMD audit took place in the second half of 2014.
The complex was tested at Eglin Air Force Base (Florida). The results showed that even in foggy or strong wind conditions, the beam can be aimed at a target and shoot down a UAV or a 60 mm caliber grenade. The HELMD installation successfully destroyed or damaged 150 targets. During tests in difficult weather conditions, most likely, adaptive optics was used to compensate for atmospheric distortions.
After 2015, the goal of work in this area will be the installation of a 50 kW laser on the HELMD. Subsequently, it can be increased to 100 kW, which will make it possible to create a weapon complex on its basis with a range of destruction / suppression of targets of several kilometers. Perhaps this will use not a solid-state, but a modular fiber laser from Lockheed, which it is developing for the US ground forces.
In the interests of the Air Force, American specialists are conducting R&D to create a complex of tactical air-launched laser weapons based on a solid-state laser, developed by specialists from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) within the framework of the HELLADS (High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System) project . At the end of 2012, a 150 kW laser facility (two modules of 75 kW each) was created.
In 2013, a ground-based experimental weapon system was developed and tested at a low power level. The next stage will be full-scale ground tests with the defeat of various targets, in case of successful completion of which it is planned to equip B-1B strategic bombers, transport aircraft, etc. with this weapon system.
The development abroad of ship-based systems for protecting surface ships from anti-ship missiles, other airborne, and a number of surface targets is carried out mainly in the United States. In the long term, when creating a ship-based LO complex, the US Navy is guided by a megawatt-class free electron laser (FEL). As an intermediate stage, it was planned to create a FEL with a capacity of 100 kW.
Due to difficulties with the development of the laser, in 2011 the program to create a 100-kilowatt FEL faded into the background, and the efforts of American specialists focused on solving key technical and technological problems in cooperation with the US Department of Energy.
Other research conducted by the US Navy in the field of LO is an attempt to use already created low-power lasers.
Thus, the BAE System company is developing the TLS (Tactical Laser System) laser weapon complex, which combines the Mk 38 shipborne anti-aircraft artillery system (ZAK) (caliber 25 mm) and a commercially available solid-state laser with a power of 10 kW. This system, according to American experts, is designed to fight small ships at a distance of up to 2 km.
In addition to this complex, the company has created a microwave emitter, which will also be placed on the Mk 38 to counter enemy electronic warfare.
The Northrop-Grumman company has developed the MLD (Maritime Laser Demonstration) LO complex, which, during tests at the test site on the river. The Potomac, being combined with the ship's radar and navigation system, fired at targets, including motor boats located on the opposite bank. The 15kW solid-state laser used in the MLD complex is one module from an installation created by the company for the US Army. Its power can be easily increased to the level of 100 kW, in contrast to commercially available lasers used in the LO systems of other developers.
In turn, the Raytheon company created a demonstration sample of a ship-based LaWS (Laser Weapon System) laser weapon complex - a hybrid of the Phalanx ZAK (without a 20-mm gun) and a 32 kW fiber laser (has a modular design - consists of six commercially available lasers).
Fiber laser technology is considered reliable and mature. In May 2010, the company at the Naval Forces training ground on about. San Nicolas, off the coast of California, tested LAWS, during which four UAVs were shot down flying over the water surface.
The Navy planned to mount the LO LAWS complex on the Ponce naval ship and send it as part of the 5th Fleet to the Middle East. In case of successful completion of its tests, BAE Systems, Northrop-Grumman and Raytheon will start developing new ship-based LO systems from 2016.
The Navy also became interested in a laser developed by DARPA under the HELLADS program. The Directorate specifically for the Navy ordered in 2013 the second copy of the 150 kW laser system.
Microwave (UHF) weapons. The principle of operation of microwave ammunition is based on the creation of a powerful, including a narrowly directed, electromagnetic pulse, similar in mechanism of action to a nuclear explosion pulse. This type of weapon is supposed to be used for the following purposes:
- setting heavy-duty active interference to command and control systems of troops and weapons;
- disabling electrical power and electrical systems of weapons and military equipment;
- Remote neutralization of improvised explosive devices and detonation of ammunition;
- non-lethal effects on personnel (pain shock, loss of consciousness, etc.).
The US Air Force currently has only two conventional microwave systems. The first ADS system (Active Denial System) by Raytheon is designed to temporarily disable enemy manpower at a distance of about 500 m at a radiation frequency of 95 GHz and a formed beam aperture of 2.0 m. Tests have shown that the pain threshold is reached within 3 from irradiation, and after 5 s the pain becomes unbearable.
In 2010, the installation was transferred to Afghanistan for some time, however, as the military said, it was never used in combat conditions.
In addition to ADS, Raytheon has developed and created at least one more sample of the Silent Guardian system, which has less power and dimensions than ADS.
To protect aircraft from missiles launched by terrorists from MANPADS in the area of civilian airfields, Raytheon developed the Vigilant Eagle microwave system, equipped with a distributed network of infrared sensors surrounding the airfield. In addition, it will include powerful pulse generators built according to a modular scheme, and an active antenna of two phased arrays with electronically controlled narrow beam.
When the sensors detect a launching anti-aircraft missile, a microwave unit is activated, which generates a microwave pulse in the direction of the missile, which disables the missile control system. The range of target detection systems and its destruction is small. According to Raytheon representatives, field tests have confirmed the effectiveness of the Vigilant Eagle system as a means of countering MANPADS.
The company's specialists are also interested in equipping surface-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles with warheads with powerful microwave emitters. If at first these are single action emitters, then later they may be able to form a series of pulses.
In 2009, the US Air Force entered into a contract with the Boeing company, which provided for the development within three years, within the framework of the CHAMP (Counter-electronic High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project) project, of a demonstration sample of a non-lethal microwave weapon placed on board a cruise missile or other air platform . It is designed to suppress enemy electronic devices without causing damage to the hull or other power structures of the enemy’s technical or combat assets.
The basis of the power electrical equipment of this weapon is rechargeable capacitive storage devices, as well as generators with an active phased antenna array and electronic beam control.
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The Boeing company is developing long-range air-launched missiles and guided bombs of the Jadam-ER series with advanced microwave units, and Raytheon is developing the Muld-V ammunition based on the AMD-160 Mald-U small-sized autonomous decoy air target. "/"Muld-1".
It is planned to conduct a series of ground and air tests of a demonstration sample created on the basis of compact microwave technologies. In October 2012, an experimental CR flew up to a complex target of seven buildings (the flight lasted about 1 hour) and disabled the computers in them with a powerful electromagnetic pulse with minimal physical damage, and then returned to a pre-specified place and landed.
The US Air Force expects this technology to be developed after 2016. In addition, it is planned to equip the KR AGM-86 ALCM with a microwave generator capable of firing several “shots” during the flight and test it.
A special place among microwave systems is occupied by microwave ammunition, the damaging effect of which on enemy electronic equipment is carried out by powerful electromagnetic radiation generated as a result of an explosion.
In 2009, a new type of ammunition was tested in the United States. Its peak power was 35 MW with a pulse duration of 100-150 not in the 2-6 GHz range. The length of the device is 1.5 m, the diameter is about 0.15 m.
Microwave munitions are based on methods for converting the kinetic energy of explosion, combustion, and DC electrical energy into the energy of a high-power electromagnetic field.
The US Navy is armed with experimental missiles, non-nuclear warheads of which are equipped with explosive microwave generators. Some of these missiles were used by the fleet at the initial stage of the war in 1991 in the Persian Gulf to suppress / destroy electronic systems and equipment of the Iraqi Armed Forces. But it is impossible to determine the effectiveness of the use of such missiles, since traditional electronic warfare means were simultaneously used to solve the same problems.
Kinetic weapon (rail electromagnetic gun). This is a weapon that affects the target, for example, by means of a projectile accelerated to a speed of several kilometers per second. Kinetic weapons got their name because of the impact on the target of the kinetic energy of the damaging elements.
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The command of the US Navy is engaged in the development of ultra-long-range artillery weapons systems for surface ships, which will become part of the fleet after 2015. One of the most promising areas is the creation of electromagnetic rail guns.
Currently, the relevant R&D is headed by the Naval Research Department of the country's Navy, which is implementing a research and development plan with the further adoption of a new type of weapon.
In January 2012, as part of ongoing research and development, BAE Systems delivered to the US Naval Ground Military Research Center a full-size demonstration sample of an electromagnetic rail gun with a kinetic energy of an accelerated projectile at the end of the bore of about 32 MJ. With the help of this gun, shells weighing 18 kg will fly at a speed of up to 2.5 km / s at a distance of 89 to 161 km.
In February 2012, a number of test shots were fired from this sample. Testing will continue until 2017. According to a representative of the BAE Systems company, so far the shooting is carried out with shells that are not of an aerodynamic shape. Their shape is optimized for the most efficient acceleration in the bore.
In 2013, the command of the US Navy signed a contract with this company to develop a new type of rail gun that will be able to fire bursts without overheating the barrel. In 2016, according to his plans, a new rail gun will be tested from the ship.
Based on the analysis of the totality of works carried out in this area, it can be concluded that they are currently at the stage of full-scale tests of industrially produced demonstration prototypes, the results of which cannot be predicted. In addition, the developers have yet to finally solve the problems of the rate of fire and firing bursts, as well as the survivability of the barrel while maintaining the required parameters. In this regard, the technical readiness of rail electromagnetic guns, created by order of the US Navy, is expected no earlier than 2025.
Boost weapon. It is usually understood as a combat weapon that ensures the destruction of targets by a directed beam of charged or neutral particles. In the United States, the main efforts in the period from the early 80s to the mid 90s were focused on studying the possibility of creating such weapons on beams of either electrons (charged particles) or neutral hydrogen atoms (neutral particles) for solving problems of anti-missile, anti-space and anti-aircraft defense.
Research was focused on three areas related to the development of technology for creating beams:
- charged particles controlled by a laser beam for use in the upper atmosphere;
- neutral particles for engagement in outer space conditions;
- charged particles for use in the lower atmosphere near the Earth's surface.
All large-scale programs in this area were completed in the mid-1990s, mainly due to an insufficiently developed technological base.
geophysical weapons. To date, there is no clear and generally accepted definition of geophysical weapons (GFOs). In a general sense, it refers to means capable of causing and targeting natural phenomena in certain areas, leading to significant destruction and casualties. The latter are considered such tectonic processes as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc., as well as climatic phenomena: tornadoes, heavy rains, droughts, frosts, destruction of the ozone layer over certain territories, floods, tsunamis, etc.
The creation of HFOs seems to be feasible in the future in the field of climate control. To influence the climate in certain areas, ground-based installations deployed at several points on the globe, capable of generating and focusing powerful electromagnetic radiation over the required area, can be used.
The main problems in the creation of HFOs are the need for powerful energy sources, means of focusing the effect and calculation models that allow determining the possible effect of environmental impact, as well as side effects and consequences. It is rather difficult to reveal the facts of work in this area, since they can easily be disguised as studies to ensure environmental safety.
A possible example of an existing HFO in a narrower version - a climate weapon - is the HAARP program (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), implemented in the USA at the experimental facility of the same name.
Officially, within the framework of this program, problems of both civil and military orientation were studied. Thus, a complex of ionospheric studies was carried out to study the properties and behavior of the ionosphere in the interests of the possible use of the results obtained to improve the operation of both civil and military means of communication and detection, the development of air defense / missile defense systems, as well as for the detection of submarines and underground tomography of the planet's interior.
The HAARP installation is located near n. Gakona (Alaska). It includes: an antenna field (180 cross-shaped dipole antennas), a virtually flat phased array, a radar station with an antenna with a diameter of 20 m, laser radars, magnetometers, as well as a signal processing and antenna field control center. The energy supply of the complex is carried out from a power plant (fuel - gas) and six (backup) diesel generators.
Specialists from the US Naval Research Laboratory reported that on November 12, 2012, they conducted a successful experiment using the HAARP installation. A stream of powerful microwave radiation was directed into the ionosphere, which at an altitude of 170 km created a relatively stable plasma cloud. The glow discharge lasted for about 1 hour. For the first time, a record density of 9x10 5 electrons per 1 cm 3 was achieved. The specialists of this laboratory announced that experiments on the creation of plasma clouds in the upper atmosphere using the HAARP facility will be continued in the future with the task of making the formed plasma cloud more dense and stable.
There are two more stations in the USA - one in Puerto Rico (near the Arecibo Observatory) and another, known as HIPAS (High Power Auroral Stimulation), in Alaska near Fairbanks. Both of them have active and passive elements similar to HAARP.
In Europe (in particular, in Norway), two ionospheric research complexes are also installed: a more powerful EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter radar site) is located near the city of Tromsø, a less powerful SPEAR (Space Plasma Exploration by Active Radar) is located on the Svalbard archipelago .
Acoustic weapons- one of the types of ONFP, based on the use of directional radiation of powerful acoustic vibrations. Samples of such weapons already exist and have been tested in real conditions.
Thus, the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) installation was developed in 2000 to protect surface ships and vessels from attacks by terrorists and pirates. Due to the fact that there are practically no reflective barriers in the sea, it is completely safe for the ship's crew. LRAD uses high-power low-frequency sound at low frequencies up to 150 dB (for comparison, the sound level of a jet aircraft is 120 dB, the pain threshold is 125 dB, and the death threshold is 175 dB), so it is very hard on the organs of the human hearing aid.
This setup was first used successfully in late 2005, when Somali pirate boats attacked the Seaburn Spirit cruise ship. However, when trying to get on board the ship, the terrorists began to throw down their weapons and cover their ears with their hands, trying to escape from the terrible pain that had come from nowhere.
The development of the LRAD system was originally carried out to ensure secrecy at sites of particular importance, but after the successful use of the acoustic installation, a proposal was made to use it on all large surface ships.
When creating the LRAD ship installation, the developments of the American Technology company were used, which produces:
- mobile units LRAD with a volume level of up to 130 dB for installation on armored personnel carriers and jeeps;
- hand-held LRAD units, resembling a megaphone in design, with a sound power of up to 120 dB, which are safe to use even in urban environments due to rapid dissipation - after 20-30 m, the reflected sound loses most of its power.
A mobile version of acoustic weapons has also been developed for US police units. Taking into account their weight and size characteristics, these tools can be placed on any motor vehicle and not only. This non-lethal weapon was used about a dozen times by the American police to disperse demonstrations. Although sonic weapons are "humane", their use can be lethal if used for long periods of time.
Israel used a similar development in the creation of the Tzaaka system, which was successfully tested during demonstrations in Jerusalem. There were also reports of the use of these weapons in the Gaza Strip.
Acoustic devices were also used to disperse anti-government demonstrations in Georgia in 2007. As a result of police actions, 508 people were forced to seek medical help.
The main characteristics of the acoustic installation LRAD "Sound Cannon": weight 20 kg; diameter 83 cm; sound wave propagation sector up to 30°; power can reach (LRAD 2000X) up to 162 dB; audibility - 9 km; coverage area approximately 100 m (in forced mode up to 300 m); zone of critical organ damage up to 15 m.
There are also projects of sonic pistols, however, due to design flaws and large dimensions, as well as due to the possibility of accidental impact on the owner, they were not launched into mass production.
Gene weapons. A possible type of weapon capable of damaging the genetic (hereditary) apparatus of people. It is assumed that artificially created strains of bacteria and viruses, modified with the help of genetic engineering technologies and introduced into the chromosome of a cell containing DNA, as well as chemical mutagens, can become the active principle of a gene weapon. Such exposure can lead to severe diseases and their hereditary transmission.
According to data published in the open Western press, for several years Israel has been actively working on the creation of a genetic weapon (the so-called ethnic bomb), which could only affect Arabs, but not Jews. In doing so, scientists are using medical advances in identifying distinctive genes that some Arabs possess in order to then create genetically modified bacteria or viruses. Attempts are being made to use the ability of viruses and a number of bacteria to change DNA inside the cells of their residence. Israeli scientists are also constructing deadly microorganisms that attack only carriers of specific genes.
The programs are carried out at the Nes Tziyona Biological Institute, the main research center in Israel. An anonymous employee of the center said that the task is extremely difficult, since both Arabs and Jews are of Semitic origin. However, according to this expert, "we have succeeded in identifying the specific genetic profile of some Arab communities, especially in people from Iraq." The disease can be spread by spraying microorganisms into the air or by contaminating plumbing systems.
In general, with the existing variety of research conducted in the United States and other countries within the framework of medical or biological programs on genetic engineering, it is difficult to identify and verify (especially according to information appearing in open information sources) works related to the creation of genetic weapons.
The exposition of the military-technical forum "Army-2016", held in September in the Moscow region, demonstrated samples of ultra-modern weapons, mainly radio-electronic, created on new physical principles. Most of these exhibits were closed to the public and were shown exclusively to specialists with the necessary forms of access to state secrets. But the very fact of demonstrating such developments allows us to conclude that the enterprises of the Russian defense industry are working and have even made great progress in the field of creating such weapons. What kind of weapon is this? And what new physical principles underlie its creation? The very concept of "weapons based on new physical principles" (ONFP) is very arbitrary, since in most cases known physical principles are used, only their use in weapons is new. In the military-political The dictionary “War and Peace” says: “... At the beginning of the 21st century, laser, accelerator, microwave, infrasound, geophysical, cyberweapons and so on belong to this type of weapon. According to their striking properties, these weapons (at least some of their types) should be classified as weapons of mass destruction. Its use can lead to a new revolutionary and dangerous leap in military affairs. "Despite the complexity of the development and production of some of these types of weapons, experts consider them to be quite promising, since in most cases they have stealth and suddenness of use, the ability to paralyze the command and control system , disable personnel and equipment. Most often, ONFP is classified as follows. laser weapons- a special type of promising directed energy weapon based on the use of laser radiation to kill people and disable military equipment (primarily optoelectronic reconnaissance and weapon control systems). Currently, only low-energy laser devices are used. Along with this, the possibility of power destruction by a laser beam of structural elements of military equipment, including the hulls of ballistic missiles and other aircraft, was experimentally tested. However, the appearance of samples of this type of weapon in service with the troops and the fleet is still problematic due to its bulkiness, high energy consumption and other negative operational factors. In 2010-2011, the US Navy tested a solid-state laser designed to protect ships from small ships. In addition, airborne, ground-based and space-based combat lasers are being developed. Boost weapon(beam) - a possible promising type of weapon based on the use of flows or beams of elementary particles (hydrogen, helium, lithium atoms, etc.) to destroy manpower and military equipment. Microwave (UHF) weapons- a possible promising type of weapon based on the use of radio-electronic components of military equipment to destroy (mainly functional). In the system of such weapons, microwave energy generators in the millimeter and centimeter wave bands and their corresponding antenna systems can be used, which together form directed radiation. Usually refers to reusable weapons. Along with this, searches are underway for single-action explosive generators and the creation of bombs (rocket warheads) based on them that hit household and military electronics at distances of tens of kilometers, which can make these weapons very effective. Most likely, it will appear in service as a deterrent against aggression. infrasonic weapons- a promising type of weapon based on the damaging effect on the human body of sound vibrations of infra-low (from units to 30 hertz) frequencies. Can be used as a weapon of mass destruction. cyber weapons- specific software designed to control, destabilize or interfere with the operation of enemy information systems and computer networks in order to suppress communications, political agitation, disable computer-controlled weapons, and solve other problems. Geophysical weapons - possible promising types of weapons, the damaging effect of which is associated with the initiation of catastrophic natural phenomena (changes in the ozone layer, climatic conditions, provoking earthquakes, etc.). True, the development of such weapons is associated with the solution of a number of complex problems, so its appearance is only possible in the future, however, experiments, including public ones, in the field of weather engineering are underway. That is why such weapons are often called non-lethal (non-lethal). Separate samples of such weapons have already been used in armed conflicts in Somalia, Haiti, and Iraq. Thus, during Operation Desert Storm, electromagnetic weapons were used, the means of delivering which to targets were Tomahawk cruise missiles. As a result, short circuits occurred in the electrical networks of power plants and power lines, which ultimately led to a disruption in the power supply to Iraq's control and air defense systems during the decisive period of the operation. The Saber-203 laser dazzler was also developed in the United States, which could be installed in a 40-mm grenade launcher . His prototype was used in 1995 in Somalia. Laser dazzlers were used by American troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the NATO military operations in Yugoslavia, a number of non-lethal weapons were tested, such as “graphite”, light, acoustic and electromagnetic bombs, a bomb that creates an unbearable smell, laser devices, sticky foam. At the very first use of the "graphite" bomb, NATO planes disabled two-thirds of Serbia's energy system for several hours. At the initiative of the United States, a special working group was created within NATO to coordinate military-applied research in the field of non-lethal weapons. Priority areas include studies of such types of weapons that cause the enemy to lose strength (a sharp decrease in activity), loss of spatial orientation, blackout, pain sensations. Are there any works in the field of creating such weapons in Russia? Answering this question, it should be noted that weapons based on new physical principles were very actively developed back in the days of the USSR. Moreover, in some areas we bypassed the United States here for at least 15 years. For example, Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Ustinov once proposed using a laser complex to accompany the American shuttle. And on October 10, 1984, during the 13th flight of the Challenger, when its turns in orbit passed over the Balkhash region, the experiment took place. The laser radar measured the parameters of the target when operating in the detection mode with a minimum radiation power. Moreover, the height of the spacecraft's orbit was 365 kilometers, the slant range of detection and tracking was 400–800 kilometers. As a result, communications were suddenly disconnected on the shuttle, equipment malfunctioned, and the astronauts felt unwell. When the Americans began to figure out what had happened, they realized that the crew had been subjected to some kind of artificial influence from the USSR. An official protest was made. In the future, a laser installation and radio-technical complexes with a high energy potential were not used to accompany the shuttles. In the 90s, all work at the test sites was curtailed, the equipment was taken to the territory of Russia, and some of the objects were blown up. However, the experience gained as a result of the program was not lost. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the commissioning of new complexes has begun: "Window" - Mount Sanglok (Nurek in Tajikistan) and "Window-S" - Mount Lysaya in the Far East. And also the Krona complexes are being introduced in the North Caucasus and the Krona-N - also in the Far East. Recently, work on a similar object can be observed in the Crimea near Feodosia. Their functions, of course, are designated as purely peaceful - "monitoring and measuring optoelectronic complexes for tracking space objects." Another example. In the USSR in 1985, on the basis of the Il-76, the A-60 aircraft was created, which was an experimental flying laboratory, a carrier of laser weapons, designed to study the propagation of laser beams in the upper atmosphere, and later to suppress enemy reconnaissance. The A-60 was an aviation version of the megawatt laser carrier. This laser was planned to be launched into space as a weapon of the Skif-D combat orbital platform. However, in the 90s, as a result of "democratic reforms", most of the work in this area was curtailed. And part of the developments, and a rather large one, were directly transferred to the United States. Russia had to turn to this topic of weapons on new physical principles relatively recently, when it became clear that the US missile defense system is not just a new military system, but a technological breakthrough. And its basis is precisely systems with new combat qualities based on new principles. For example, a ground-based interceptor is a system that ensures the destruction of a ballistic missile warhead at a distance of several thousand kilometers without an explosion by a direct hit by a striking element. That is, at a distance of two to three or five thousand kilometers, this interceptor must ensure that a target the size of a refrigerator hits. These are, of course, laser systems, beam systems, that is, the same weapons based on new physical principles of hitting a target by direct transmission of not kinetic, but beam, beam energy. If we draw analogies, then from the point of view of historical parallels, the creation of a missile defense system can be compared with the transition from bows and arrows to firearms. That is why Russia, in order to compete with the United States, also has to move into this new era. And here a number of areas are a priority. First of all, these are laser systems again, which should solve the problems of hitting both ballistic missiles and dynamic aircraft within the framework of their own missile defense system. Another direction in the development of weapons based on new physical principles is electromagnetic bombs and other electromagnetic weapons. In recent years, Russia has made significant progress in this direction. First of all, we can talk about stations for power electronic suppression of continuous operation. They, acting on the input circuits of radio-electronic devices, lead to their combustion, failure. Moreover, the Russian military has repeatedly demonstrated its combat capabilities in the field of new weapons. In particular, during the Crimean events, after which a serious scandal erupted in the United States: how did the Kremlin fool not only US intelligence analysts, but also military satellites that were watching Crimea? Why did the special services miss the appearance of "polite people" on the peninsula? The Pentagon was forced to admit that Russia has made significant progress in the latest technologies, because its military has managed to “hide” from American tracking systems. As for ground stations, we now have the best in the world. A number of these very best samples were demonstrated at the closed exposition of the Army-2016 military-technical forum in Patriot Park.