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The Future of DEW

Future research will seek to increase the power and decrease the size of DEW systems. As they become smaller, DEW weapons will first be vehi­cle-mounted and then possibly man-portable. The death ray of science fiction may in fact become a reality in the not too distant future.

Lasers are becoming smaller and more powerful. For example, a recent test of a solid-state laser by Northrop Grumman produced a continuous 27-kilowatt beam that lasted just under six minutes.[23]

A possible future development is the electrolaser. Electrolasers make use of laser bloom, a normally undesired effect. In an electrolaser, twin laser beams create an ionized channel inside the atmo­sphere, which conducts electricity. A high-voltage electrical charge is then fed into one of the laser beams, striking the target. The electrical shock is enough to stun personnel, detonate improvised explosive devices, or destroy electronic equipment.

Improvements in energy-generating systems may also make particle-beam weapons feasible. Particle beams would have tremendous power as weapons. Like lasers, particle beams travel at the speed of light, but unlike lasers, the particles in a particle beam have mass, giving the beam tremen­dous kinetic energy.

At some point in the future, entire military units may be armed with only DEWs. A mechanized unit advancing through a town, protected by an anti-artillery and anti-missile laser shield, clearing the surrounding buildings of snipers and enemy troops with an active denial system, and using electrolas­ers to stun them before taking them prisoner, all while using HPM weapons to render the enemy’s communications useless, would be a powerful mil­itary unit indeed.