THE US Air Force has deployed 20 missiles which can zap enemy electronics with powerful pulses rendering weapons virtually useless.

They can be launched into enemy airspace at low altitude and emit blasts of high-power microwave energy that immediately disable any devices targeted.

5 Graphic shows a Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project missile taking out a target Credit: Champ

The Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) is the brainchild of Boeing's Phantom Works lab.

They have not been operation until now and could be used to frazzle the military defences of Iran and North Korea, reports DailyMail.com.

News of the state-of-the-art weapons - which are carried into battle by B-2 stealth bombers - comes as a Saudi state newspaper called for the US to launch "surgical strikes" against Iran now.

Mary Lou Robinson, the chief of the High Power Microwave Division of the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base, told DailyMail.com the missiles are now operational.

They are equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment and military vehicles.

However, the unique feature of the system is its ability to penetrate bunkers where facilities are hidden without harming anyone inside.

5

While North Korea or Iran may attempt to shield their equipment, US officials doubt that would be effective against CHAMP.

The news comes as tensions continue to mount in the Middle East.

Iran's military mastermind even secretly met Iraqi militias in Baghdad and ordered they “prepare for proxy war”, according to reports.

Intelligence sources have reportedly revealed that General Qassem Suleimani summoned militias under Tehran’s influence three weeks ago.

Tehran should be targeted now following attacks on Saudi's oil infrastructure, the Arab News has argued in an English-language editorial.

It pointed out that the US had "set a precedent" with strikes against Bashar al Assad's Syrian regime in 2017 following his military's shocking chemical strikes.

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"Crown Prince Mohammed was clearly correct when he argued that appeasement does not work with the Iranian regime, just as it did not work with Hitler," it said.

"The next logical step — in this newspaper's view — should be surgical strikes."

The Arab News is owned and managed by members of the Saudi royal family, and is seen as a government-aligned publication.

5 The state-of-the-art weapons are carried into battle by B-2 stealth bombers Credit: Getty - Contributor

5 The fragile Middle East is already haunted by several military flashpoints

5 The US has also beefed up its deployment of Patriot missiles in the region Credit: Getty - Contributor