01-12-2012, 11:23 AM
E-BOMB
[attachment=42017]
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.
INTRODUCTION AND EARLY HISTORY
The fact that an electromagnetic pulse is produced by a nuclear explosion was known since the earliest days of nuclear weapons testing, but the magnitude of the EMP and the significance of its effects were realized very slowly.
In July, 1962, a 1.44 megaton United States nuclear test in space, 400 km. above the mid-Pacific Ocean, called the Starfish Prime test demonstrated to nuclear scientists that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, more than 800 miles away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link[2].
PRINCIPLES BEHIND E-BOMB
An electromagnetic bomb, or e-bomb, is a weapon designed to take advantage of this dependency. But instead of simply cutting off power in an area, an e-bomb would actually destroy most machines that use electricity. Generators would be useless, cars wouldn't run, and there would be no chance of making a phone call. In a matter of seconds, a big enough e-bomb could thrust an entire city back 200 years or cripple a military unit. The basic principles behind the working of e-bomb are:
1. The Compton effect (for nuclear e-bomb)
2. Flux compression (for non-nuclear e-bomb)
The basic idea of an e-bomb -- or more broadly, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon -- is pretty simple. These sorts of weapons are designed to overwhelm electrical circuitry with an intense electromagnetic field.
NUCLEAR EMP
E-bombs started popping up in headlines only recently, but the concept of EMP weaponry has been around for a long time. This idea dates back to nuclear weapons research from the 1950s. In 1958, American tests of hydrogen bombs yielded some surprising results. A test blast over the Pacific Ocean ended up blowing out streetlights in parts of Hawaii, hundreds of miles away. The blast even disrupted radio equipment as far away as Australia.
NON-NUCLEAR EMP
The technology base, which may be applied to the design of non nuclear electromagnetic bombs, is both diverse, and in many areas quite mature. Key technologies, which are extant in the area, 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. A wide range of experimental designs has been tested in these technology areas, and a considerable volume of work has been published in unclassified literature.
Flux compression
The flux compression is defined as compressing a large amount of flux within a low inductive region. For a constant intensity magnetic field of magnitude B traversing a surface S, the flux Φ is equal to B x S. Magneto-explosive generators use a technique called "magnetic flux compression", which will be described in detail later. The technique is made possible when the time scales over which the device operates are sufficiently brief that resistive current loss is negligible, and the magnetic flux on any surface surrounded by a conductor (copper wire, for example) remains constant, even though the size and shape of the surface may change[2].
Elementary description of flux compression
• An external magnetic field (blue lines) threads a closed ring made of a perfect conductor (with zero resistance). The nine field lines represent the magnetic flux threading the ring.
• After the ring's diameter is reduced, the magnetic flux threading the ring, represented by five field lines, is reduced by the same ratio as the area of the ring. The variation of the magnetic flux induces a current in the ring (red arrows), which in turn creates a new magnetic field, so that the total flux in the interior of the ring is maintained (four green field lines added to the five blue lines give the original nine field lines)
TARGETING AN E-BOMB
The task of identifying targets for attack with electromagnetic bombs can be complex. Certain categories of target will be very easy to identify and engage. Buildings housing government offices and thus computer equipment, production facilities, military bases and known radar sites and communications nodes are all targets, which can be readily, identified through conventional photographic, satellite, imaging radar, electronic reconnaissance and humint operations. These targets are typically geographically fixed and thus may be attacked providing that the aircraft can penetrate to weapon release range. With the accuracy inherent in GPS/inertially guided weapons, the electromagnetic bomb can be programmed to detonate at the optimal position to inflict a maximum of electrical damage.
CONCLUSION
Electromagnetic bombs are Weapons of Electrical Mass Destruction with applications across a broad spectrum of targets, spanning both the strategic and tactical. As such their use offers a very high payoff in attacking the fundamental information processing and communication facilities of a target system. The massed application of these weapons will produce substantial paralysis in any target system, thus providing a decisive advantage in the conduct of Electronic Combat, Offensive Counter Air and Strategic Air Attack. Because E-bombs can cause hard electrical kills over larger areas than conventional explosive weapons of similar mass, they offer substantial economies in force size for a given level of inflicted damage, and are thus a potent force multiplier for appropriate target sets[3].
[attachment=42017]
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.
INTRODUCTION AND EARLY HISTORY
The fact that an electromagnetic pulse is produced by a nuclear explosion was known since the earliest days of nuclear weapons testing, but the magnitude of the EMP and the significance of its effects were realized very slowly.
In July, 1962, a 1.44 megaton United States nuclear test in space, 400 km. above the mid-Pacific Ocean, called the Starfish Prime test demonstrated to nuclear scientists that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, more than 800 miles away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link[2].
PRINCIPLES BEHIND E-BOMB
An electromagnetic bomb, or e-bomb, is a weapon designed to take advantage of this dependency. But instead of simply cutting off power in an area, an e-bomb would actually destroy most machines that use electricity. Generators would be useless, cars wouldn't run, and there would be no chance of making a phone call. In a matter of seconds, a big enough e-bomb could thrust an entire city back 200 years or cripple a military unit. The basic principles behind the working of e-bomb are:
1. The Compton effect (for nuclear e-bomb)
2. Flux compression (for non-nuclear e-bomb)
The basic idea of an e-bomb -- or more broadly, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon -- is pretty simple. These sorts of weapons are designed to overwhelm electrical circuitry with an intense electromagnetic field.
NUCLEAR EMP
E-bombs started popping up in headlines only recently, but the concept of EMP weaponry has been around for a long time. This idea dates back to nuclear weapons research from the 1950s. In 1958, American tests of hydrogen bombs yielded some surprising results. A test blast over the Pacific Ocean ended up blowing out streetlights in parts of Hawaii, hundreds of miles away. The blast even disrupted radio equipment as far away as Australia.
NON-NUCLEAR EMP
The technology base, which may be applied to the design of non nuclear electromagnetic bombs, is both diverse, and in many areas quite mature. Key technologies, which are extant in the area, 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. A wide range of experimental designs has been tested in these technology areas, and a considerable volume of work has been published in unclassified literature.
Flux compression
The flux compression is defined as compressing a large amount of flux within a low inductive region. For a constant intensity magnetic field of magnitude B traversing a surface S, the flux Φ is equal to B x S. Magneto-explosive generators use a technique called "magnetic flux compression", which will be described in detail later. The technique is made possible when the time scales over which the device operates are sufficiently brief that resistive current loss is negligible, and the magnetic flux on any surface surrounded by a conductor (copper wire, for example) remains constant, even though the size and shape of the surface may change[2].
Elementary description of flux compression
• An external magnetic field (blue lines) threads a closed ring made of a perfect conductor (with zero resistance). The nine field lines represent the magnetic flux threading the ring.
• After the ring's diameter is reduced, the magnetic flux threading the ring, represented by five field lines, is reduced by the same ratio as the area of the ring. The variation of the magnetic flux induces a current in the ring (red arrows), which in turn creates a new magnetic field, so that the total flux in the interior of the ring is maintained (four green field lines added to the five blue lines give the original nine field lines)
TARGETING AN E-BOMB
The task of identifying targets for attack with electromagnetic bombs can be complex. Certain categories of target will be very easy to identify and engage. Buildings housing government offices and thus computer equipment, production facilities, military bases and known radar sites and communications nodes are all targets, which can be readily, identified through conventional photographic, satellite, imaging radar, electronic reconnaissance and humint operations. These targets are typically geographically fixed and thus may be attacked providing that the aircraft can penetrate to weapon release range. With the accuracy inherent in GPS/inertially guided weapons, the electromagnetic bomb can be programmed to detonate at the optimal position to inflict a maximum of electrical damage.
CONCLUSION
Electromagnetic bombs are Weapons of Electrical Mass Destruction with applications across a broad spectrum of targets, spanning both the strategic and tactical. As such their use offers a very high payoff in attacking the fundamental information processing and communication facilities of a target system. The massed application of these weapons will produce substantial paralysis in any target system, thus providing a decisive advantage in the conduct of Electronic Combat, Offensive Counter Air and Strategic Air Attack. Because E-bombs can cause hard electrical kills over larger areas than conventional explosive weapons of similar mass, they offer substantial economies in force size for a given level of inflicted damage, and are thus a potent force multiplier for appropriate target sets[3].