14 DAY TRIAL // This is the new star weapon of the American troops: a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel a sensation like they are about to catch fire.
Paradoxically, apart of the terrifying sensation, the new weapon is totally harmless, being a non-lethal way to get enemy troops to renounce battle.
This new weapon would save the civilian lives and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. "The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it", officials said.
In first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, soldiers fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people mimicking rioters or acting out other scenarios usually met by U.S. Troops in various in war zones.
The device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses from more than 500 yards away and hit their target. This range is 17 times larger than that of current non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.
The beam provokes an unbearable sudden blast of 130-degree heat throughout the body, which, even if not painful, it made the targeted ones believe their clothes were about to ignite. "This is one of the key technologies for the future,'' said Marine Col. Kirk Hymes, director of the non-lethal weapons program at Quantico, Va., which helped develop the new weapon. "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in.''
The weapon employs electromagnetic millimeter waves, which can enter just 1/64th of an inch of skin, enough to provoke a tremendous sensation. Common microwaves used for cooking penetrate several inches of flesh. "The millimeter waves cannot go through walls, but they can penetrate most clothing," officials said.
The weapon is to be mounted on ships, airplanes and helicopters. "There should be no collateral damage to this,'' said Senior Airman Adam Navin, 22, of Green Bay, Wis., who has served several tours in Iraq.
A veteran from Iraq said that Iraq people constantly pulled up and faked car problems so they could scout out U.S. forces. "All we could do is watch them,'' he said. But with the ray gun, troops "could have dispersed them.''