Set them on Stun Mr. Chekhov

White Sands tests for anti-IED energy weapons

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army has been testing and evaluating new directed energy weapons at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The systems undergoing tests at the Joint Directed Energy Test Site use microwaves, lasers and electricity bolts to disable or destroy IEDs.

Officials said the army has deemed a priority the development of an anti-IED system for the military in Iraq. The program has been overseen by the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command.

"Every one of these systems that we test that gets out in theater will hopefully counter these devices," Brad King, project director for JDETS development, said.

IEDs have been responsible for about 70 percent of U.S. military casualties in Iraq. Over the last two years, the army has focused research and development efforts in producing a system that could identify and disable IEDs.

A key problem with existing counter-IED systems, officials said, is that they often disrupt other electrical systems in the area. These systems are omni-directional and hamper communications required for the protection of patrols and convoys.

In contrast, officials said, directed-energy weapons can disable or destroy IEDs without disrupting nearby systems, services or utilities. They said the army has ordered the completion of tests of some of the systems in as few as 30 days.

"They want us to execute as quickly as we can, for obvious reasons," King, with the System Engineering Development Directorate, said. "It's a dynamic environment. The insurgents are pretty innovative about the things they are trying to do to kill people or to make [IEDs] more effective."

Another concept was to use energy-directed weapons from helicopters to neutralize IEDs. Officials said the army was constructing mock urban areas meant to replicate villages and towns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Unfortunately we think this is going to be a growth industry, we think there are IEDs being put in place in a lot of places," King said. "We're trying to emulate some of the conditions and some of the structures that might be seen in theater."