ActiveDenialSystem
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Pain Gun vs. Reporter round two, reporter left feelin' hot, hot, hot (video)
You may not recall when 60 Minutes' David Martin took a shot at the Pain Gun, but it didn't end well for the fleshy anchorman. Now Wired's Spencer Ackerman's having a go, with similarly one-sided results. The Pentagon's sanguinely-named Active Denial System turns electricity into millimeter-wave radio frequency, silently pumping out 95GHz of searing hot agony from distances of 2,500 feet. The project's still got a few issues, namely that it takes 16 hours to boot up, uses a heck of a lot of energy and stops working if it's raining, snowing or dusty. But, you know, it'll be back when the air clears up, and you probably don't want to be around when it arrives. If you'd like to see the score go 2-0 to the weaponized microwave, head on past the break.
Daniel Cooper03.13.2012
Raytheon's pain gun finally gets deployed in Afghanistan (update: recalled)
It's been six long years since we first got wind of the Pentagon's Active Denial System, and four since it was slated to control riots in Iraq, but though we've seen reporters zapped by the device once or twice, it seems the Air Force-approved pain gun is only now entering service in Afghanistan. The BBC reports the device -- which generates a targeted burning sensation in humans -- is now deployed with US troops, though a military spokesman is assuring publications that it "has not been used operationally," and that the armed forces have yet to decide whether to actually use it. Wired reports the unit was plagued by technical and safety issues for years, not to mention political concerns, but as to that last we have to imagine even a semi-damaging heat ray beats the pants off lead-based alternatives. Update: Sorry folks, false alarm -- a Air Force spokesperson just informed us that though the pain gun was indeed sent to Afghanistan, it's now being returned to the US without ever seeing use.
Sean Hollister07.18.2010
Video: reporter vs. the Air Force pain gun. Guess who wins.
It's funny, no matter how many times we see some poor, hapless reporter getting wave after wave of pain washed over them like a cool summer storm, it really never gets old. We'd argue that this 60 Minutes clip of correspondent David Martin taking on the Air Force's Active Denial System (aka the pain gun) is possibly the best we've seen yet, and not just because this guy actually has some cred to lose (unlike that time Amanda Congdon took a taser). Oh, and a parting note to enemy combatants: bring your mattress into combat. You'll have a comfy spot to nap on before the pain gun shows up and you use it as a shield. Video after the break.
Ryan Block03.04.2008
"Pain gun" gets Air Force green light
Despite the fact that the Air Force's Active Denial System has yet to be deployed against unruly domestic mobs as Secretary Michael Wynn would have liked -- seems like they missed their opportunity prior to the PS3 launch -- Wired is reporting that the branch's so-called "pain gun" has been certified as "safe" by scientists and "excruciating" by the soldiers and monkeys it was tested on. For those of you who don't follow the latest developments in non-lethal weaponry, the ADS -- which has been in development for over ten years -- shoots a 94GHz millimeter wave that triggers an immediate flight response from anyone in its path within 500 meters; although the majority of military test results are classified, it's said that even the toughest subjects can only endure five seconds of the intense burning before running like hell in the opposite direction. Just because the weapon has been green lit for combat, however, doesn't mean that we'll see ADS-equipped Hummers rolling around the streets of Baghdad anytime soon: as Secretary Wynn suggested, international backlash could be significant once photos of beet red, blistered victims start hitting the internet and 24-hour news networks. Still, with the military stuffing this technology into weapons of all shapes and sizes (plane-mounted versions will soon bring the pain from above), it probably won't be too long before these devices become so mainstream that you'll be able to pick one up at Wal-Mart bundled with a free tube of burn cream.
Evan Blass12.05.2006