3 ms·

I wonder how practical this actually is... There is of course almost no technical details provided but based on the dish this likely doesn't have more than a 30

I wonder how practical this actually is... There is of course almost no technical details provided but based on the dish this likely doesn't have more than a 30 degree beam width (and likely a smaller effective beam width). It's impossible to tell from this video but the drone may need to stay in the beam for a certain amount of time before it gets taken out. I'm guessing this is more of a "we're heating the electronics beyond their operational capacity" than "we're inducing surges in the traces and overloading circuitry" kind of killing. The video in that story shows it moving and it's not fast... Even a $50 toy drone can really cruise. So I'd question it's ability to track a moving target much less take out a swarm of them.

tim333 7y ago
When you put electronics in microwaves sparks seem to come off fairly strait away - here are some guys doing a phone https://youtu.be/7aceV8URLjc?t=4 https://youtu.be/7aceV8URLjc?t=4 I'm not quite sure how the physics work but its not just heating
- thunderbird120 7y ago
  It's essentially a targeted EMP[1]. Other similar systems using targeted microwaves to fry electronics have been developed[2] but this one seems to be relatively low tech in comparison due to much looser constraints on size. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Non-nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse_(NNEMP) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Non-nucl... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-electronics_High_Power_Microwave_Advanced_Missile_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-electronics_High_Power...
wtallis 7y ago
> I'm guessing this is more of a "we're heating the electronics beyond their operational capacity" than "we're inducing surges in the traces and overloading circuitry" kind of killing. I suspect it's the opposite: very high-power but short duration microwave pulses that will induce sufficiently high voltages to blow insulation somewhere important in the target device. I don't know enough about antenna/dish design to estimate what frequency band it operates in and the $15M price tag is low enough to rule out some of the really advanced microwave sources, but we could still potentially be looking at multi-MW pulses.
- dillonmckay 7y ago
  There was a demo some years ago about blue-screening a windows box via parts from a microwave oven at a decent distance. I vaguely remember it being a Russian dude that also was making hydrochloric acid?
  - SpaceRaccoon 7y ago
    You may be referring to Kreosan?
madengr 7y ago
I’d think the beam width is much narrower, as it’s probably operating at X-band or higher. Given it’s a solid reflector, as opposed to mesh, and using a sub-reflector (which would be several wavelengths in diameter).
fencepost 7y ago
You probably don't want anything nearly as wide as 30 degrees if you're shooting around with a HERF gun linked to targeting radar in a population area, even if you ignore factors of beam density or spread. A highly focused beam that's able to follow a target puts a lot more power on the target than a simple directional antenna with 30 degree spread. I suspect that anything more than a couple degrees of spread would be considered undesirable for this kind of use.
- TrueDuality 7y ago
  I was being extremely generous given the rotational speed these things were demonstrated with. If it has a significantly narrower beam it absolutely won't be able to track a single moving drone much less deal with it's intended target of a "swarm of drones".
  - Abekkus 7y ago
    The US has guns that successfully track missiles and mortar rounds, any drone meant for extended flight won't be faster than either of those. However, hardening against microwaves costs less than the defensive tracking system, so it's probably better to keep shooting bullets.
    - ujoh1 7y ago
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tim333 7y ago

When you put electronics in microwaves sparks seem to come off fairly strait away - here are some guys doing a phone https://youtu.be/7aceV8URLjc?t=4 https://youtu.be/7aceV8URLjc?t=4 I'm not quite sure how the physics work but its not just heating

thunderbird120 7y ago
It's essentially a targeted EMP[1]. Other similar systems using targeted microwaves to fry electronics have been developed[2] but this one seems to be relatively low tech in comparison due to much looser constraints on size. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Non-nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse_(NNEMP) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Non-nucl... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-electronics_High_Power_Microwave_Advanced_Missile_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-electronics_High_Power...

wtallis 7y ago

> I'm guessing this is more of a "we're heating the electronics beyond their operational capacity" than "we're inducing surges in the traces and overloading circuitry" kind of killing. I suspect it's the opposite: very high-power but short duration microwave pulses that will induce sufficiently high voltages to blow insulation somewhere important in the target device. I don't know enough about antenna/dish design to estimate what frequency band it operates in and the $15M price tag is low enough to rule out some of the really advanced microwave sources, but we could still potentially be looking at multi-MW pulses.

dillonmckay 7y ago
There was a demo some years ago about blue-screening a windows box via parts from a microwave oven at a decent distance. I vaguely remember it being a Russian dude that also was making hydrochloric acid?
- SpaceRaccoon 7y ago
  You may be referring to Kreosan?

madengr 7y ago

I’d think the beam width is much narrower, as it’s probably operating at X-band or higher. Given it’s a solid reflector, as opposed to mesh, and using a sub-reflector (which would be several wavelengths in diameter).

fencepost 7y ago

You probably don't want anything nearly as wide as 30 degrees if you're shooting around with a HERF gun linked to targeting radar in a population area, even if you ignore factors of beam density or spread. A highly focused beam that's able to follow a target puts a lot more power on the target than a simple directional antenna with 30 degree spread. I suspect that anything more than a couple degrees of spread would be considered undesirable for this kind of use.

TrueDuality 7y ago
I was being extremely generous given the rotational speed these things were demonstrated with. If it has a significantly narrower beam it absolutely won't be able to track a single moving drone much less deal with it's intended target of a "swarm of drones".
- Abekkus 7y ago
  The US has guns that successfully track missiles and mortar rounds, any drone meant for extended flight won't be faster than either of those. However, hardening against microwaves costs less than the defensive tracking system, so it's probably better to keep shooting bullets.
  - ujoh1 7y ago
    Hello See how you can make a steady passive incomes of $100 daily on virta stock trading without you risking your money and your investment visit the website here http://www.virtatrade.com/index.php http://www.virtatrade.com/index.php for more details