In a forecast report, the US Air Force is considering systems based on electromagnetic technologies to neutralize both nuclear missile strikes and drone strikes.
Force fields against missiles and drones
Le Report Directed Energy Futures 2060 Explore Lesson US Homeland Defense Capabilities in forty years. This document from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) evokes force fields in particular. This kind of technology is very much present in science fiction films, for example to protect ships from powerful attacks. For the United States Air Force, force fields neutralize nuclear missile attacks or attacks by armed drones. Such a device could also be transported by plane or integrated into a military satellite.
In particular, the report describes the use of a beam of electromagnetic energy directed at a target. It can be a destructive laser beam or intended to interfere with radio frequencies. And while force fields are science fiction for now, electromagnetic energy weapons already exist. About thirty countries already have this technology, is being tested or is already operational. In most cases, the goal is to neutralize civilian or military drones.
Nothing is impossible by 2060
While destroying a drone is entirely possible with today’s technology, defeating a nuclear missile is pretty cool so far. Moreover, in the case of a hypersonic missile, the difficulty would be even greater due to the impossibility of anticipating its trajectory. However, it is not excluded that a working and efficient technology capable of such a feat would see the light of day in about forty years.
In addition to anti-missile force fields that can destroy drones, the AFRL report mentions other technologies. In particular, let’s mention the Active Denial System (ADS), a pre-existing device. It is a riot control weapon intended for law enforcement and thus aimed at people. The weapon in question is capable of: clock millimeter waves at 95 GHz. The least we can say is that its effects are horrifying. This is because ADS can heat the skin of nearby rioters at a temperature of 55°C.
In 2019, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) also released a rather disturbing forecast report. It talked about the appearance of cyborgs in the ranks of the military by 2050. In particular, the document mentioned devices that improve eyesight and hearing. Let’s also mention a kind of implant equipped with a network of skin sensors to improve physical performance and, in case of danger, to automatic muscle control. This device can also be combined with an exoskeleton.
