Sandia non-lethal weaponry researchers Willy Morse and James Pacheco test the small-size Active Denial System in the field. *

Photo: Randy Montoya * Burglars break into an apartment, hoping to pick up some expensive electronics or jewelry. But they're out again, empty-handed, within seconds, howling with pain and surprise. They've been driven back by waves of intolerable heat: Entering the apartment is like stepping into a furnace. It's the Active Denial System, or ADS, at work, the ultimate in home protection ... among other uses.

Also known as the "pain beam," ADS is a revolutionary non-lethal weapon that uses microwaves to cause burning pain without injury. The 95-GHz waves only penetrate a fraction of an inch, heating the outer surface of the target's skin. According to the Air Force, nobody can tolerate the beam for more than five seconds, and improvised protection such as wrapping yourself in wet towels or tin foil is useless.

There have been repeated calls for ADS to be deployed in Iraq, but the military is bogged down in reviews of the technology. However, now that ADS exists, the pain beam's manufacturer is exploring domestic U.S. uses, like industrial- and home-security systems. The Department of Energy is looking at employing the technology to protect America's nuclear stockpile. Meanwhile, some U.S. law enforcement officials are eager to get their hands on the pain weapon, and the Department of Justice is funding a multimillion-dollar research project to give it to them.

"We seem to have no qualms about dropping bombs on people, but are afraid of being embarrassed if we accidentally hurt someone while trying to save their lives," says Charles "Sid" Heal, a commander at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department "Those restrictions do not apply to the Department of Justice and we are zealously looking for ways of resolving confrontations without having to kill or seriously hurt our adversary."

A former Marine, Heal has tested Active Denial and believes it could be invaluable in situations like jail riots, where the searing pain could cow rebellious prisoners. His biggest problems are the system's size and price tag; it's currently mounted on a Hummer and costs millions of dollars, putting it far beyond the reach of police departments.

That's where the U.S. Justice Department comes in. The National Institute of Justice, the department's R&D branch, believes police need a cheaper, lightweight Active Denial system with shorter range. NIJ tested a prototype of such a system earlier this year, but the results of testing have not yet been revealed. A working device is expected to be delivered towards the end of 2008.

"NIJ is working with the developer of the ADS system, Raytheon, to modify its underlying technology for law enforcement and corrections application in a man-portable configuration with a desired range of a hundred feet," says Department of Justice spokeswoman Sheila Jerusalem.

Mike Booen, Raytheon's vice president of directed energy weapons, says the handheld version could progress rapidly if the demand is there. So far funding has only amounted to $2.5 million (compared to $100 million on the military version), and more money would speed the process of getting it into the field. Such a device might be a separate unit or might be mounted under a rifle.

Booen says the smaller system may fire short pulses rather than a continuous beam due to power limitations. Beam diameter will be much smaller than the Hummer-mounted version – just a few inches, instead of six feet. But in tests, even one square inch of exposure produced the "repel effect," forcing the subject to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

A handheld ADS would deliver an intermediate level of force, between verbal commands and more drastic means such as pepper spray or Tasers. But some have concerns that it could be used to punish or torture suspects rather than control them. Pepper spray and Tasers have caused plenty of debate, and any police use of "pain compliance" methods invites controversy. A device that causes intense pain but leaves no physical or chemical traces could easily be abused.

The police are not the only ones planning to use Active Denial in the United States. Sandia National Laboratorieshave been working on a version for defending America's nuclear stockpiles since 2005. It would replace the Department of Energy's current non-lethal nuclear security option, a sticky foam system.

Sandia planned to have ADS in service by 2008, but a representative told Wired News that the technology "does not appear" to be on track for deployment next year.

Active Denial will probably defend more than just nuclear facilities. Last year, Raytheon was granted a patent for an "area protection system and method" that uses mounted pain beams to protect outdoor and indoor areas from intruders.

In one implementation, beam projectors are "located on the ceiling, at an angle, behind wall panels," and a series of metallic reflectors, also concealed, ensure that the beam covers the whole room. "In some embodiments, the energy may be directed to protect an item at one or more particular locations," the patent reads. "In these embodiments, systems may be used to guard a valuable item such as jewelry, weapons, or works or art."

The system would have a variable power level to "cause mild pain or severe pain," with the mild pain being used as "a warning device to indicate that an area should not be entered."

According to the patent, the fully integrated system would use a low-power beam as an intruder detector. It can track intruders and vary the beam power: The patent suggests using high power if intruders advance, reducing as they flee.

Applications include military-perimeter defense, and commercial and industrial security. It could even be extended to home protection: Imagine an anti-burglar system that drives intruders out, rather than just making a noise. It could also be used for border security, a prospect that some find alarming.

"The tracking devices already built in could be automated so that these weapons require no human intervention at borders," says Steve Wright of the Praxis Center, which studies non-lethal weapons. "We won't get harmless weapons, we will get mass pain-delivery systems to seal off future refugees."

Wright also believes that the pain beam could be the perfect tool for oppressive regimes. But others see it as a golden opportunity for better law enforcement.

"We believe this to be a major breakthrough in the development of non-lethal options that are both safe and effective," says Heal. "We can dissuade people committing violent acts without hurting them and without being hurt."

It seems likely, though, that ADS will have its first U.S. deployment in less controversial tasks, like defending nuclear stockpiles and military installations. From there, the technology will become more established. As with Tasers, the debate will be less about whether the pain beam is acceptable in a democracy and more about where it is acceptable.

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