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The Charm of Stealth Attack: Why Are Directed Energy Weapons Undetectable?
With the advancement of science and technology, military equipment is gradually developing in the direction of being invisible and concealed. As a weapon system that does not rely on physical ammunition, directed energy weapons (DEW) use high-energy focused energy to attack targets, allowing them to attack silently on the battlefield and become a new highlight in military strategy.
Directed energy weapons make no sound and have stealth characteristics, which allows them to be concealed when performing tasks and difficult to be detected by enemy forces.
Directed energy weapons have a wide range of potential applications, ranging from personnel targets to missiles, vehicles and optical equipment, with almost no restrictions. The Pentagon, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Ordnance Research, Development and Engineering Center, and Naval Research Laboratory in the United States are actively researching this technology to deal with threats from ballistic missiles, supersonic cruise Threats from missiles and supersonic glide vehicles. These missile defense systems are not expected to be officially put into use until the mid to late 2020s at the earliest.
Globally, countries including China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, Israel and Pakistan are developing military-grade directed energy weapons, while Iran and Turkey claim to be in service.
The biggest advantage of directed energy weapons is the stealth of their operation, which allows their attacks to be carried out without the opponent's defense.
Microwave-type weapons can be used against drones. This technology allows attackers to disable targets without making any sound in the face of today's drone threats. The characteristics of this type of weapon make it difficult to attribute blame to a specific actor, further enhancing its stealth.
Operational advantages of directed energy weapons
Directed energy weapons demonstrate operational advantages over traditional weapons in many ways:
- Blurred boundaries: Directed energy weapons can spread in a nearly perfect straight trajectory and are not affected by factors such as gravity, wind speed or Coriolis force, greatly improving the accuracy of aiming.
- High efficiency: Light-speed laser weapons can greatly extend the attack distance and bypass the limitations of general ammunition supply, as long as the energy supply is sufficient.
- Cost-effective: Directed energy weapons can in some cases cost less to operate than traditional weapons.
However, although there are currently a variety of prototype designs for directed energy weapons, these weapons are still mainly in the experimental stage, and real large-scale use is still in the future.
Type introduction
Directed energy weapons can be divided into several categories, including microwave weapons, laser weapons, particle beam weapons and acoustic weapons. Here are some representative systems:
Microwave weapons
Microwave weapons operate at frequencies from 300 MHz to 300 GHz and are effective against drones and other electronic devices.
For example, the United States' "Active Denial System" is a weapon that uses millimeter wave energy to interfere with targets.
Laser weapons
Laser weapons such as the "DragonFire" developed by the United Kingdom are a system of considerable strategic significance. They have begun field testing and are expected to be used on various weapons platforms in the future.
Acoustic weapons
Acoustic weapons such as Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) can be used for non-lethal containment and can transmit clear voice messages to prevent serious crowd nuisance.
Conclusion
As the world pays more and more attention to directed energy weapons, the concealment and innovation of their attack modes are continuing to change the current military landscape. These weapons not only redefine attack methods on the battlefield, but also pose new challenges to future military operations. Against this background, will future wars increasingly rely on these stealth attack capabilities, or even trigger a new round of arms race?
