China has overcome a significant technical hurdle in the development of a compact yet extremely powerful directed energy weapon – and it could be a game changer for modern warfare.
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This high-power microwave (HPM) weapon – which is still in laboratory testing and not ready for immediate deployment in the field – is capable of generating electromagnetic pulses with an intensity comparable to a nuclear explosion, which can disrupt or even destroy electronic components within enemy weapons systems.
The US military has announced plans to deploy HPM weapons in the Indo-Pacific region this year, targeting Chinese satellites. These weapons employ traditional dish-shaped antennas and require constant rotation to engage different targets.
The new Chinese weapon uses phased array transmission technology instead to “precisely focus energy, increasing its effective range and enhancing damage effects, enabling simultaneous attacks on multiple targets,” according to researchers involved in the project.
Such a weapon was once deemed impossible because the pulses it generates could potentially destroy itself.
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The electromagnetic waves generated by this Chinese energy weapon can reach or even exceed a total power of one gigawatt.
The rotating electromagnetic waves it generates need to be converted precisely into a more stable state and evenly distributed to eight independent channels for phased array antennas.