STUDENTS’ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AFASTUD 2019

21st Edition
COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

FUNDAMENTALS OF DIRECTED ENERGY

Răzvan HERȚEG

Air Traffic Management, “Henri Coandă” Air Force Academy, Brașov, Romania
(hertegg13@gmail.com)

Abstract: The aim of this project is to show the basics of directed energy, their potential in future
warfare and why it’s time to focus more on this technology. When we are saying directed energy, the most
common device would be the laser, but there are many more and some of those have amazing features. If
we are to take a closer look at directed energy, we also have to talk about the electromagnetic spectrum
which nowadays it is a critical enabler for modern militaries. If at first the electromagnetic spectrum was a
source of battlefield advantage, now in today’s era those that exploit the electromagnetic spectrum better
will win the war. All in all, the capabilities of directed energy technology can easily surpass every weapon
system as it is in a continuous evolution. We should consider it in the future, as it may win the next war.

Keywords: technology, warfare, electromagnetic spectrum, laser

1. INTRODUCTION

The military doctrine is defining directed
energy as a term that is covering technologies
that generates focused electromagnetic energy,
atomic energy or subatomic particles. A
directed energy weapon is a system using
directed energy purposely as a means to
incapacitate damage, disable or destroy enemy
equipment, facilities or personnel. Therefore
directed-energy warfare is a military action
involving the use of directed energy devices,
weapons or countermeasures to incapacitate,
cause direct damage to or to destroy the
adversary equipment, facilities, personnel in
order to exploit, reduce or to prevent hostile
use of the electromagnetic spectrum through
damage, destruction and disruption. Also these
systems have friendly actions to protect the
facilities and the personnel. Nowadays this
technology is becoming more prolific and
stronger, it is also becoming a subset of the
electronic warfare mission area. Ultimately for
directed energy systems to become something
big in the future, we would need at least 10
more years to fund them at a big level.
Scientists describe the directed energy
phenomenon as throwing electro-optical
physics, which means the propagation and
interaction of light with various materials.
Also electromagnetism has played a
continuously increasing role in the
development of directed energy systems.
Today the most developed directed-energy
system is the high-energy laser, which we will
discuss later in this paper. Another concept that
has evolved lately are the radio-frequency
devices or radio-frequency weapons, which is
the high-power microwave which can destroy
or degrade electronic systems. However due to
the lack of precision of the high power
microwave, people lost their interest in their
development and focused their attention on the
high energy laser. The devices discussed
earlier generate electromagnetic waves that
 Răzvan HERȚEG

can be precisely aimed at targets. All such

waves travel in a straight line.

2. A GLANCE AT THE DIRECTED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

2.1 ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

FIG .1. THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

To understand the directed energy the radiation. For example radio waves have
fundamentals, we need to understand what the photons with low energy, microwave photons
electromagnetic spectrum is. More exactly the have a little more energy than radio waves,
electromagnetic spectrum is the environment infrared photons have still more than the two
where electronic warfare takes place, therefore before and then we have the visible light. The
the electromagnetic spectrum is an visible light is the only fragment of the
environment where also directed energy is electromagnetic spectrum which we can see it
produced and used for different purposes, like with our eyes. After the visible light we have
military applications or even medical research. ultraviolet, X-rays and the most energetic of
The electromagnetic spectrum is the all, gamma rays. High-energy laser often
range of all types of electromagnetic radiation. operate in the portion of the electromagnetic
Electromagnetic radiation which can be spectrum, more exactly within the visible light
expressed in terms of energy, wavelength or or infrared portion of the spectrum, while high-
frequency, can be described as terms of a power microwaves within the microwave
stream of particles, called photons, each portion of the spectrum. (FIG .1.)
travelling in a wavelike pattern at the speed of Thought history, visible light or the light
light. Each photon contains a certain amount that we people can see it was the only known
of energy. Radiation is sorted and classified by element of electromagnetic spectrum.
the amount of energy found in the photons of
.
2.2 ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE
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So far we know that a directed energy weapon
is a device that concentrates highly focused
energy for example laser, microwaves and
particle beams at a respective target with the
purpose of destroying the target or damaging
it. We also know that a device that uses
directed energy radiates an immense amount of
power. So what if we could encapsulate an
immense amount of electromagnetic energy
and release it over a location, what could we
achieve by doing this. Well the answer is
simple, we would achieve an electromagnetic
pulse, which is a burst of electromagnetic
radiation. Today we can achieve the so called
electromagnetic pulse effect in 3 ways, one is
via detonation of a nuclear device , the second
.
FIG.2. THE EFFECTS OF AN EMP DETONATION
Therefore the effect of a detonation is massive.
Right now scientists are trying to create a
directed-energy weapon, which can generate a
continuous pulse. It is system that can direct
is when we are using a non-nuclear
electromagnetic pulse weapon and the final
method is occurring when a geomagnetic storm
affects the Earth. These pulses can be high-
frequency, similar to a flash of lighting or a
spark of static electricity, or low-frequency
similar to an aurora-induced phenomenon. An
electromagnetic pulse can spike in less than a
nanosecond or can continue longer than 24
hours, depending on its source. The
consequences of an electromagnetic pulse use
can range from permanent physical damage to
temporary system disruptions and can result in
fires, electric shocks to people and equipment
and critical service outrages
the electromagnetic pulse wherever you want,
with an infinite source of energy. So it would
become a weapon of mass destruction.
(FIG.2.)
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2.3. HIGH-ENERGY LASER

Lasers are the most known type of directed-
energy weapon and also it is the most
operationally deployed in the last two
centuries. There are some characteristics that
make it so convenient. For example the most
obvious point is that the beam generated by a
laser reaches target at the speed of light and
that is about 300,000 kilometers per second.
Because every form of electromagnetic energy
travels at this speed, a laser beam can cover
great distances almost instantaneously. So the
tracking and intercepting a target is greatly
simplified and the target’s capacity to evade
harm is much reduced.
The next principle of directed energy is
that this technology and the beams that they
generate are not affected by gravity or
atmospheric drag. Although the bending of
light by gravitational fields exists, but their
significance is almost null, in warfare the
energy beams are essentially immune to
gravity because they have no mass. The lack of
mass frees them from aerodynamic constraints
which means, the enemy cannot determine the
ballistic trajectory of our shot because
theoretically it doesn’t exist. So they can’t
predict where the next shot will be.
Another aspect that I will cover is that lasers
are extremely precise, the main beam of an
Airborne Laser is approximately 1.5 meters
wide and yet it can hit targets that are 500
kilometers distant with pinpoint accuracy.
With enough tracking and data about the
current target, by employing directed-energy
attack systems we can select the specific part
of a fast-moving target that we wish to strike.

FIG.3. TACTICAL HIGH ENERGY LASER

There are different methods by which a high-
energy laser can be accomplished, but the
generic components of a laser system are
always the same. There must be a power
source with adequate fuel; there must be a
chamber in which coherent light is generated.
Up next there must be optical mechanisms for
forming and focusing a beam, there must be
sensors for tracking intended targets and
characterizing the space between the laser and
the targets. And last but not least there has to
be the beam control components for shaping
the beam and directing it so it traverses the
space with maximum efficiency.
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2.4. HIGH POWER MICROWAVE
The term “microwave” technically applies to
the highest frequency radio waves, therefore
those operating in the gigahertz range.
However it has become commonplace to refer
to all directed energy weapons operating at
radio frequencies as high power microwaves,
which is not true. This tendency exists to all
devices operating at infrared for example to be
called lasers, which again is false.
Unfortunately such looseness can foster the
misconceptions about the properties of a high
power microwave. In the second part of this
paper we have explained the effects of an
electromagnetic pulse; people tend to believe
that hardening techniques developed to cope
with the electromagnetic pulse generated by a
nuclear blast or by another device can shield
electronic systems from microwave bursts.
Facts state that a nuclear blast operates at the
low end of the radio-frequency spectrum, more
exactly in the megahertz range, while
microwaves operate at the high end or the
gigahertz range of the spectrum. Therefore
defensive techniques that cope well with the
megahertz frequency threats will be useless
against a microwave attack.
High power microwaves can cause three
levels of destructive effect in electronics,
temporary upset, permanent upset or burnout.
Temporary upset is an effect similar to
interference caused by jamming equipment.
Permanent upset occurs when magnetic
memories or processor logic is erased and the
burnout is physical damage to components
resulting from power overloads and from this
results heat. The level of effect against a given
target will depend on the amount of energy
irradiated and the characteristics of
transmission like, frequency, pulse duration
and so on. Obviously any weapon that can
generate such amount of energy has potential
to do great damage to the military senor and
communication networks of an adversary, not
to mention the civilian infrastructure. The
advantage of this device is even at low power,
a microwave weapon could be used to disable
the avionics of aircraft in flight, which is how
much directed energy has evolved in the last
two decades. It can even heat the skin
molecules of enemy personnel, a painful effect
however because the energy threshold at which
radio waves begin to disrupt digital systems is
at far lower levels than which the radiation
would be perceptible to humans. So because of
this drawback, most applications involve
discriminate attacks against electronics rather
than attacking the personnel.
The difference can be seen only if we can
understand these devices, in the popular
mindset, lasers are flashes of light which
proceed in a straight line toward targets which
are destroyed by holes drilled in them. So if a
laser beam can be the equivalent of a bullet
shot from a rifle, then the microwave is more
like a shot from a shotgun. Through this
divergence, the energy spreads with distance,
and the effective range is less. The unusual
paths which a beam may take in the
atmosphere, together with the limitations
imposed by breakdown suggest that
microwaves are unsuited for precision
destruction of threatening targets like lasers.
Rather they are more likely to be fired at an
array of targets, and the target will receive a
sufficient dose of energy to exploit the internal
vulnerabilities. By understanding how the
directed energy works with this system and it’s
mechanism, we can understand how we can
damage the adversary.
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3. CONCLUSIONS

We have just seen a fragment of what this
technology is truly capable of speed, precision
and mobility are all to a greater extent. These
inherent characteristics of directed-energy have
made them desirable in both civil and military
environments. Directed energy hold forth the
potential not of just instantly killing a target,
but also imposing variable effects through the
management of the amount of energy
employed against a specific area or target. The
impact of this technology might be more than
just a force multiplier, it may be critical to
military operations in an environment where
the use of explosive could lead to self-
destruction, collateral damages or accidents.
Nowadays directed-energy can have a
unique role, the combination of rapid reaction,
long ranges and speed-of-light engagement is
really impressive. In fact targets that are
moving past the sound barrier could be shot
down instantly as they become fragile against a
pinpoint accurate device, that is tracking and
taking the shot without hesitation.
As technology advances every day, it
would not be a surprise for us to see sooner or
later , plasma rifle, light saber and other
science-fiction like technologies from movies
or books. Not today, but maybe in 20 years
regular bullets will not exist anymore and
directed-energy will take over and totally
change the way we see warfare today.

4. REFERENCES

1. Jason D. Ellis (April, 2015). Directed-Energy Weapons: Promise and Prospects,

City: Washington
2. Lexington Group, Directed-Energy Weapons: Technologies, Applications and Implications,
City: Arlington
3. Phillip E. Nielsen (July, 2012). Effects of Directed Energy Weapons
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse