Pioneering 'heat wave' gun may be used in Iraq

As safe as tasers? :eyes:


Pioneering 'heat wave' gun may be used in Iraq

By Philip Sherwell in Quantico, Virginia and Jacqui Goddard
Last Updated: 3:38pm GMT 17/11/2007


American commanders in Iraq are urging Pentagon chiefs to authorise the deployment of newly-developed heat wave guns to disperse angry crowds or violent rioters.

But the plea for what senior army officers believe could prove a valuable alternative to traditional firepower in dangerous trouble-spots has so far gone unanswered.

Washington fears a barrage of adverse publicity in the suspicious Muslim world and is concerned that critics will claim the invisible beam weapons were being used for torture.

Now the US military directorate charged with developing non-lethal weapons, which has invested more than a decade developing the Active Denial System (ADS), has launched a concerted effort to convince both the public and its own bosses at the defence department of the device's merits.

"With brand new technology like this, perception is everything," said Col Kirk Hymes, a former Marine artillery officer who heads the directorate.

He added that tests were almost complete and the first ADS, also known as the Silent Guardian, could be deployed early next year if the Pentagon allows. The decision is so sensitive that it is expected to be made personally by the defence secretary, Robert Gates, who sent senior representatives to the demonstrations.

Raytheon, the company contracted to manufacture the prototype, has also received interest from several undisclosed European countries. The machine displayed last week cost about $10 million to build, but the directorate believes that the ADS can be put into production for $2-$5 million (£1-2.5 million) per device.

more...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/18/wdenial118.xml

The United States "field tests" weapons of mass persuasion at it's advanced research labs in Guantanamo, Abu Grahib, and other undisclosed locations.

That could be kind of a downside, I'm thinking.