China develops ‘impossible’ microwave weapons

China’s National University of Defense Technology and Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology are researching a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon that uses phased-array transmission technology to “primarily concentrate energy”. accuracy, increasing effective range and allowing attacks on multiple targets at the same time.”

This technology is different from the HPM weapons announced by the US to be deployed in the Indo-Pacific this year, which use traditional dish antennas and need to be rotated continuously to attack targets. different goals, according to the report published on January 14.

China’s HPM weapons, still in laboratory testing and not yet ready for field deployment, are capable of emitting extremely high-intensity electromagnetic pulses, enough to damage or destroy. electronic components inside enemy weapons.

This type of weapon was once considered “impossible”, because it could be destroyed by the electromagnetic pulse it created. China’s weapons possess the ability to emit rotating electromagnetic waves with a total power of one gigawatt or more, which need to be precisely converted to become stable, as well as distributed evenly through eight independent channels. setup for phased array antennas.

The electric field intensity inside the power divider reaches more than 80,000 volts per meter, equivalent to electromagnetic waves created by nuclear explosions. Such high-intensity electromagnetic radiation is difficult to separate and is highly likely to cause damage to the device.

However, the Chinese research team says it has overcome the above challenge, developing a power divider capable of withstanding explosions of more than 5,000 maximum power pulses without failure. The wavelength was also maintained stable during the tests.

China’s energy weapons are also capable of emitting electromagnetic pulses on the Ku band, one of the main operating bands of communication satellites like Starlink.

The research team has not released the name or image of this weapon.

Realizing the prominent role of Starlink in the conflict in Ukraine, the Chinese military is actively developing anti-satellite weapons, of which gigawatt-level directed energy weapons are believed to be a potential method to deal with satellites in low orbit, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

In addition to HPM, directed energy weapons also include types such as high-power laser cannons. They have a number of advantages over traditional kinetic energy weapons, most notably the ability to fire continuously at a very low cost per shot.