The United States Air Force is developing high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) weapons systems and high-power microwave UAVs for electronic warfare and airborne cyber operations.
Researchers at the High-Power Electromagnetic Weapons program, led by the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., are engaging with the defense industry to develop future weapon technologies aimed at new compact energy materials, components, and configurations through the Advanced Electromagnetic Technology (AET) project.
U.S. military researchers are working on improving more compact electromagnetic pulse technologies, enabling suitable power conversion to control high-power electromagnetic field effect sources that can overload and destroy the circuitry of the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles.
This project also seeks to evaluate and leverage advancements in basic power technology to optimize size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements for future HPEM weapon systems. The five-year AET project revolves around six high-tech capabilities for military use: mechanisms for generating short, repetitive electromagnetic pulses that minimize thermal output; charged particle beam interactions; plasma technology and compact low-energy HPEM plasma technology; fundamental high-power electromagnetic and microwave weapons; and solid-state high-power electromagnetic and microwave weapons.
Basic HPEM research will investigate the interactions of materials for next-generation high-power microwave weapons, including modeling and testing materials heated by high-power microwave or millimeter-wave radiation.
Accordingly, U.S. military researchers are focused on enhancing compact electromagnetic pulse technologies, allowing suitable power conversion to control high-power electromagnetic field effect sources that can overload and destroy the circuitry of the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles. For high-power microwave weapons and similar systems, the project will also develop primary power sources and high-power, rapid-charge strategies capable of charging, discharging, and regulating the energy of electromagnetic pulse systems for both manned and unmanned aircraft.
Enhancing the impact of high-energy charged particle beams on electronic systems will aid in designing and building an accelerator for effect testing.
Charged particle beam interactions involve activating technologies for high-energy particle beam weapons that can disable or destroy enemy electronic components and systems. This research effort focuses on amplifying the potential impacts of high-energy particle beams on electronic systems, thereby designing and constructing an accelerator for effect testing.
Additionally, applying plasma technology and compact low-energy HPEM plasma technology will help create a new generation of high-power microwave weapons and millimeter-wave laser weapons that interact with high-temperature materials, capable of storing compact yet high-power energy, firing electric arcs in bursts while still achieving maximum efficiency.
Basic HPEM research will explore the interactions of materials for next-generation high-power microwave weapons, including modeling and testing materials heated by high-power microwave or millimeter-wave radiation.
Solid-state HPEM technology will allow the U.S. Air Force to explore nonlinear transmission or other high-power electromagnetic weapon concepts in solid states for future aircraft. This effort will consider durability, lifecycle testing on system components, pulse power, primary power sources, and antennas.
Unlike electronic warfare, which interferes with radio wave transmission, a cyberattack targets the data packets themselves.
Satellites are also vulnerable to cyberattacks, as the information they transmit can be hacked, destroyed, or taken over. Unlike electronic warfare, which interferes with radio wave transmission, a cyberattack will target the data packets directly. Any data packet entering or leaving the system can become a potential “backdoor” for attackers to infiltrate. Such an attack can cause damage at various levels, from data loss to widespread chaos, potentially even rendering satellites completely inoperable. In this type of attack, satellite operators may find it difficult to recognize that their satellite’s malfunction is due to an attack, as satellites can naturally experience faults or failures at any time.
