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> Could it be there is some way to target a location with multiple radio beams such that the damaging effect occurs at the point of interference? Maybe just con
by akiselev 6y ago
> Could it be there is some way to target a location with multiple radio beams such that the damaging effect occurs at the point of interference? Maybe just constructive interference from multiple weaker beams? Something like this would need to be aimed precisely of course.
Yes, a phased array [1], which is likely what the GGP was referring to by "What is unproven though, is how one would ever shrink the size of an electronic weapon like this."
Advanced radars work by creating a concentrated beam of RF with constructive interference and scanning it across the sky, but the installations are huge. A smaller directed microwave weapon would be meters across, hard to hide, and noisy.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array
- na85 6y agoI have dinner plates that are larger than the phased array under the nose cone/radome of the C-130 Hercules or the 737. Phased arrays can be very small.
- akiselev 6y agoSource? I don't know of any plane that have a proper phased array - the only one I know of is the Airborne Phased Array Radar and that's still a WIP. Note that just putting a couple of antennas close to each other to improve angular resolution on the radar isn't really a phased array in the sense that we're talking about.
- na85 6y agoHundreds of aircraft have phased arrays onboard. See this wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_electronically_scanned_array https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_electronically_scanne... Specifically, I believe the one on the 737 is the Rockwell Collins WXR-2100.