Despite years of developments and testing, the Pentagon has refused requests to send its most advanced nonlethal weapon to Iraq. In fact, as early as 2003, an Air Force scientist asserted that had the Active Denial System -- which uses millimeter waves to create an intense burning sensation -- been deployed to Iraq, it could have saved lives, the AP reports:
Not only did Pentagon officials refuse to send the controversial weapon to Iraq, they blocked a request that came as late as December 2006. The big concern is clearly the public fallout from deploying a microwave weapon.
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There's a larger and more interesting issue here: there will never be a time that the first-use of a new and controversial weapon like the Active Denial System will occur without any fallout. On the other hand, the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate has long said they need to move to directed energy weapons to achieve the stand-off distances they desire in new weapon. Sooner or later those in leadership will have to decide whether it's worthwhile to deploy such weapons, rather than just punting the ball down the field. Of course, another consideration the military will have to weigh is: At this late stage, would the actual benefit to the military of employing a nonlethal directed energy weapon in Iraq outweigh the possible public backlash, both at home and abroad?
Update:
Armchair Generalist writes:
Yeah, ah guys, little late in the game to be worried about impressions of "torture," dontcha think? Interestingly, the article notes that one request from the field is to take a similar directed energy system and combine it with guns on a mobile platform.
I suppose this saves one operator the trouble of retargeting a disruptive crowd that didn't respond to the directed energy "suggestion." Maybe the exact concept of "non-lethal" engagement hasn't really sunk into the broader military user community's mindset yet.