Military Question: "Offensive Electronics"?

[BeBMan]

Yesterday I watched CNN, in a report about the Iraq crisis they said a new kind of EM weapon can´t be used there because it is still in the prototype stadium. But then they showed the commander of the US forces there who said "offensive electronics" will be used.

What´s this, and what effects do such means have?

[TheStinger]

Its computers that swear at you

[MikeH]

I was going to say it was a transistor shaped like a penis.

[Spec]

No no no, The're war heads containing highly computerized viruses that attacks the highly computurised PCs of Iraq, The COMMODORE 64!!! Watch out basic, the end is near!!!

hehe

Spec.

[BeBMan]

Someone here who has really an idea?

[Urban Ranger]

Well, the EM weapon could be the one reported previously, a "microwave pulse" warhead mount on cruise missiles to disable enemy electronics.

[BeBMan]

Yes, but this (I think) the one they cannot use currently...

[CerberusIV]

The EMP weapon is the experimental one but that doesn't mean they won't "field test" it.

Offensive electronics could just mean jamming communications and the statement is meant to worry the Iraqis.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Offensice electronics just refers to active transmitters, jammers, etc., meant to interfere with radar, communications, etc.

The difference with the new EMP weapons is that those are single-use weapons designed to do fatal damage to electronic systems in the target area, as opposed to the current generation of continuous use stuff which just disrupts enemy electronics.

[BeBMan]

Ok, thanks.

[Ned]

Ah! An EMP grenade right out of Deus Ex!

[raghar]

EMP weapons are really old concept. They are well thought with easy avilable documentation, and they are easy to build. Easy weapons for terrorists without ugly unnecesary victims. Range is, if done perfectly, aprox 600 m. And yes all old Russia's airplanes are more or less immune against EMP.

So you need just lots of explosives some copper wires metal tube and glass or something like glass. Do it fine, place it near bank or US military base and...

Sometimes US speech excel with hints to terrorists and with bad mouth type of diplomacy. They would talk so much about what they could use, and terrorists would listen.