NEW WORLD OF ELECTRONIC WEAPONS – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:   It's remarkable.  But if we have this, it won't take long for others to have it.  From London's Daily Mail:

From Ocean's Eleven to Star Trek, weapons that wipe out enemy electronics are a staple of science fiction films.

For years, scientists have been attempting to create such a weapon as part of Champ, or the Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile Project.

Now, the US Air Force claims it has advanced the technology, and says it can deploy it using the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM).

According to Foxtrot Alpha, once integrated into JASSM, Champ will be a 'first day of war' standoff weapon.

Because it can be launched by both bombers and fighters, Lockheed's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, is an ideal platform for Champ.

'The capability is real … and the technology can be available today,' said Major General Thomas Masiello, the Air Force Research Laboratory.

'That's an operational system already in our tactical air force'

In 2012, aircraft manufacturer Boeing successfully tested the weapon on a one-hour flight during which it knocked out the computers of an entire military compound.

During Boeing's experiment, the missile flew low over the Utah Test and Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to seven targets, permanently shutting down their electronics.

COMMENT:  This reminds us of articles warning of an EMP (electronic magnetic pulse) attack on the United States, which would require a nuclear weapon to be set off high above our country.  The explosion's electronic pulses would, theoretically, destroy the electronics that run electric generating stations, hospitals, communications networks, trains, airliners, and commercial offices. 

It now appears, from the weapon described above, that miniature EMP attacks could be launched closer to the ground, using missiles or perhaps low-flying aircraft, without setting off a nuclear weapon. 

We have, as an advanced country, become almost completely dependent on electronics.  A successful EMP attack, or a series of strategically placed mini attacks, could paralyze the nation for days, weeks, or months.  Some say that a massive EMP attack could kill millions because food, water and fuel supplies could be cut off and emergency services brought to a halt.

Maybe digging that self-contained shelter, with supplies and protected generators, isn't so nutty after all.

May 27, 2015