An invisible heat ray, that causes a burning sensation like being too close to a fire or like touching a bulb when the light is on, but that does not leave skin burns or other injuries. It is the new weapon developed by the US Defence, with the goal to use it where it is necessary to scatter a mob or disarm the enemy. Presented as a prototype for the first time on Wednesday, January 24th in a Georgia military base with a demonstration of its effectiveness, the new weapon should be put in production starting in 2010. And the Pentagon is already dreaming of its application in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How it works. The military world calls the new contraption “active denial system” (Ads) or “Silent guardian”. That someone, however, has already nicknamed “microwave weapon”. Thanks to a high frequency electromagnetic beam (95 GigaHertz), shot by a parabolic antenna manoeuvrable by means of a joystick like in video-games, the Ads causes a sudden skin temperature rise up 54 degrees in the hit point, caused by the skin water molecules excitation. The sensation is unbearable and you can't but move away immediately. But Raytheon, the armament industry that has conceived the weapon for the Pentagon, guarantees that the very high frequency penetrates only the first 0.4 millimetres of the skin without causing the slightest irritation; microwaves in a common oven, instead, would penetrate the skin for several centimetres. “Silent guardian”, that can be conveniently mounted on a vehicle, is effective even beyond 500 meters: penetrates clothes but not walls. By comparison the most commonly used non lethal weapon, the rubber bullet, works well only below 100 metres, but causes haematoma and even worse consequences if hitting delicate parts.

The sensation. “For the first millisecond you simply feel the skin heating up”, said a spokesman of the US Air force research laboratory, who acted as a guinea-pig in the experiment. “Then it becomes hotter and hotter and you feel like burning. As soon as you move away from the beam your skin gets back to normal and you don't feel pain any longer”. A Reuters journalist instead, who accepted to be hit by Ads in the media demonstration, has described the sensation “like a heat burst from a very hot oven”.

Experts' doubts. For the Pentagon the new weapon does not cause any injury. But not everybody is convinced. According to Edward Hammond, from Sunshine Project, a group of experts in biological weapons, there are some obscure points: “What would it happen if the heat ray hit a person in her eyes or, even worse if she wore glasses or contact lenses? And what would be the effect on metal objects like keys or coins in pockets?” he asks himself while speaking with PeaceReporter. Dominique Loye, a physicist who studies at the International Red Cross the effects caused by the so-called “non lethal” weapons, echoes: “They say that this weapon would be used to disperse mobs, because those being hit could do nothing but run away”, he explains to PeaceReporter. But if those in the middle of the crowd cannot step aside the beam, what do they do, they end cooked up? Without considering that the instinct of escaping could panic the crowd”. Hammond also raises ethical doubts: “The Army claims they want to use the Ads in Iraq, not in the United States. Is it right to use a weapon in an occupied country, against civilians? Furthermore, I don't think that 'microwaving' people in Iraq is the wisest strategy to endear themselves to Iraqis”.