10-11-2012, 03:59 PM
ELECTROMAGNETIC BOMB
[attachment=38970]
ABSTRACT
High Power Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power
Microwave technology have matured to the point where practical E-bombs (Electromagnetic bombs) are becoming technically feasible, with new applications in both Strategic and Tactical Information Warfare. The development of conventional E-bomb devices allows their use in non-nuclear confrontations. This paper discusses aspects of the technology base, weapon delivery techniques and proposes a doctrinal foundation for the use of such devices in warhead and bomb applications.
This paper includes a discussion of the technical, operational and targeting aspects of using such weapons. The immaturity of this weapons technology limits the scope of this discussion, and many potential areas of application have intentionally not been discussed. The ongoing technological evolution of this family of weapons will clarify the relationship between weapon size and lethality, thus producing further applications and areas for study.
Introduction
In principle, an electromagnetic weapon is any device which can produce electromagnetic field of such intensity, that a targeted item or items of electronic equipment experiences either a soft or hard kill.
A soft kill is produced when the effects of the weapon cause the operation of the target equipment or system to be temporarily disrupted. A good example is a computer system, which is caused to reset or transition into an unrecoverable or hung state. The result is a temporary loss of function, which can seriously compromise the operation of any system which is critically dependent upon the computer system in question.
A hard kill is produced when the effects of the weapon cause permanent electrical damage to the target equipment or system, necessitating either the repair or the replacement of the equipment or system in question. An example is a computer system which experiences damage to its power supply, peripheral interfaces and memory. The equipment may or may not be repairable, subject to the severity of the damage, and this can in turn render inoperable for extended periods of time any system which is critically dependent upon this computer system.
Electromagnetic bomb is a directed energy, high power and non-nuclear microwave weapon researched upon for use as non-lethal weapon, by not harming humans but affecting the warfare electronics thereby leaving the enemy limping. These are actually not bombs at all but a large microwave oven.
Technology base for electromagnetic bomb
The technology base which may be applied to the design of electromagnetic bombs is both diverse, and in many areas quite mature. Key technologies which are extant in the
areas are explosively pumped Flux Compression Generators (FCG), explosive or propellant driven Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) generators and a range of HPM devices, the foremost of which is the Virtual Cathode Oscillator or Vircator.
Due to harmful effects of the nuclear method of EMP generation, it is not used. Most common technology used for E-Bomb is FCG and Vircator. Using these, the block diagram of a non-nuclear HPM weapon – E-Bomb- Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generators.
The explosively pumped Flux Compression Generator (FCG) is the most mature technology applicable to bomb designs. The FCG was first demonstrated by Clarence Fowler at Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) in the late fifties. Since that time a wide range of FCG configurations has been built and tested.
The FCG is a device capable of producing electrical energies of tens of MegaJoules in tens to hundreds of microseconds of time, in a relatively compact package. With peak power levels of the order of TeraWatts to tens of TeraWatts, FCGs may be used directly, or as one shot pulse power supplies for microwave tubes. To place this in perspective, the current produced by a large FCG is between ten to a thousand times greater than that produced by a typical lightning stroke.
The central idea behind the construction of FCGs is that of using a fast explosive to rapidly compress a magnetic field, transferring much energy from the explosive into the magnetic field.
The initial magnetic field in the FCG prior to explosive initiation is produced by a start current. The start current is supplied by an external source, such a high voltage capacitor bank (Marx bank), a smaller FCG or an MHD device. In principle, any device capable of producing a pulse of electrical current of the order of tens of kiloAmperes to MegaAmperes will be suitable.
A number of geometrical configurations for FCGs have been published. The most commonly used arrangement is that of the coaxial FCG. The coaxial arrangement is of particular interest in this context, as its essentially cylindrical form factor lends itself to packaging into munitions.
[attachment=38970]
ABSTRACT
High Power Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power
Microwave technology have matured to the point where practical E-bombs (Electromagnetic bombs) are becoming technically feasible, with new applications in both Strategic and Tactical Information Warfare. The development of conventional E-bomb devices allows their use in non-nuclear confrontations. This paper discusses aspects of the technology base, weapon delivery techniques and proposes a doctrinal foundation for the use of such devices in warhead and bomb applications.
This paper includes a discussion of the technical, operational and targeting aspects of using such weapons. The immaturity of this weapons technology limits the scope of this discussion, and many potential areas of application have intentionally not been discussed. The ongoing technological evolution of this family of weapons will clarify the relationship between weapon size and lethality, thus producing further applications and areas for study.
Introduction
In principle, an electromagnetic weapon is any device which can produce electromagnetic field of such intensity, that a targeted item or items of electronic equipment experiences either a soft or hard kill.
A soft kill is produced when the effects of the weapon cause the operation of the target equipment or system to be temporarily disrupted. A good example is a computer system, which is caused to reset or transition into an unrecoverable or hung state. The result is a temporary loss of function, which can seriously compromise the operation of any system which is critically dependent upon the computer system in question.
A hard kill is produced when the effects of the weapon cause permanent electrical damage to the target equipment or system, necessitating either the repair or the replacement of the equipment or system in question. An example is a computer system which experiences damage to its power supply, peripheral interfaces and memory. The equipment may or may not be repairable, subject to the severity of the damage, and this can in turn render inoperable for extended periods of time any system which is critically dependent upon this computer system.
Electromagnetic bomb is a directed energy, high power and non-nuclear microwave weapon researched upon for use as non-lethal weapon, by not harming humans but affecting the warfare electronics thereby leaving the enemy limping. These are actually not bombs at all but a large microwave oven.
Technology base for electromagnetic bomb
The technology base which may be applied to the design of electromagnetic bombs is both diverse, and in many areas quite mature. Key technologies which are extant in the
areas are explosively pumped Flux Compression Generators (FCG), explosive or propellant driven Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) generators and a range of HPM devices, the foremost of which is the Virtual Cathode Oscillator or Vircator.
Due to harmful effects of the nuclear method of EMP generation, it is not used. Most common technology used for E-Bomb is FCG and Vircator. Using these, the block diagram of a non-nuclear HPM weapon – E-Bomb- Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generators.
The explosively pumped Flux Compression Generator (FCG) is the most mature technology applicable to bomb designs. The FCG was first demonstrated by Clarence Fowler at Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) in the late fifties. Since that time a wide range of FCG configurations has been built and tested.
The FCG is a device capable of producing electrical energies of tens of MegaJoules in tens to hundreds of microseconds of time, in a relatively compact package. With peak power levels of the order of TeraWatts to tens of TeraWatts, FCGs may be used directly, or as one shot pulse power supplies for microwave tubes. To place this in perspective, the current produced by a large FCG is between ten to a thousand times greater than that produced by a typical lightning stroke.
The central idea behind the construction of FCGs is that of using a fast explosive to rapidly compress a magnetic field, transferring much energy from the explosive into the magnetic field.
The initial magnetic field in the FCG prior to explosive initiation is produced by a start current. The start current is supplied by an external source, such a high voltage capacitor bank (Marx bank), a smaller FCG or an MHD device. In principle, any device capable of producing a pulse of electrical current of the order of tens of kiloAmperes to MegaAmperes will be suitable.
A number of geometrical configurations for FCGs have been published. The most commonly used arrangement is that of the coaxial FCG. The coaxial arrangement is of particular interest in this context, as its essentially cylindrical form factor lends itself to packaging into munitions.