USAF CHAMP Heralds the Era of Microwave Weapons

The missile launched from the wing pylon of a B-52 heavy bomber and streaked over the desert of western Utah. At pre-set coordinates, a microwave emitter installed in the winged, jet-propelled cruise missile blasted a target building. But there was no big bang, no billowing clouds of dust and debris. Instead, the building was struck with disruptive, high-frequency microwaves.

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Engineers, researchers and test personnel from Boeing, Raytheon and the Air Force Research Laboratory observed the test flight from a conference room at nearby Hill Air Force Base. A television camera mounted in a room in the unoccupied target building showed rows of desktop computers, their screens on and programs running.

When CHAMP passed overhead and activated its Raytheon-built microwave emitter, the computers went dark -- and, a moment later, so did the camera monitoring the test. "Cheers erupted in the conference room," Boeing spokesman Randy Jackson wrote in a press release published Monday.

"This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare," Keith Coleman, the CHAMP program manager at Boeing Phantom Works, told Jackson. "In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive."

Word of caution is that the US military is the most dependent on electronics on the planet.