http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a9ba0344d30.htm

The People Zapper (This new secret weapon doesn’t kill, but it sure does burn)

Government News
Source: Marine Corps Times
Published: March 5, 2001 Author: C. Mark Brinkley, Times Staff Writer
Posted on 02/27/2001 04:40:20 PST by SLB
This new secret weapon doesn’t kill, but it sure does burn

The Marine Corps is on the verge of unveiling perhaps the biggest breakthrough in weapons technology since the atomic bomb: a nonlethal weapon that fires directed energy at human targets.

The weapon, named the Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System, focuses energy into a beam of micromillimeter waves designed to stop an individual in his tracks, said Marine Col. George Fenton, director of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, in an exclusive interview with Marine Corps Times on Feb. 23.

The energy, which falls near microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum, causes the moisture in a person’s skin to heat up rapidly, creating a burning sensation similar to a hot light bulb pressed against one’s flesh.

When used as directed — that is, briefly — the weapon causes no long-term problems, Fenton said.

The amount of time the weapon must be trained on an individual to cause permanent damage or death is classified.

The directorate in Quantico, Va., was planning to unveil the technology in April after briefing Marine Commandant Gen. James Jones, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan and senior Defense Department civilians, still not appointed.

But plans were accelerated and much of the program declassified after Marine Corps Times learned of the story.

Plans now call for an unveiling and demonstration for military and congressional leaders in March at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

The Marine Corps leads the directorate, but the VMADS project is co-sponsored by the Air Force, which has conducted much of the research and development. The technology could move into the acquisition phase of making a prototype as soon as this summer, when the project would be taken over by the Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., near Boston.

I saw something on this about 6 months ago.  

I remember seeing a bright gree light about 8 inches in width at about 15 feet.  Suspect was totally disoriented and felt very sick after the test was preformed.

Too damn scary to think about.  Star Trek anyone?