KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – High-power electromagnetics (HPEM) technology experts at Verus Research in Albuquerque, N.M., are helping the U.S. Air Force find ways of integrating future electronics-killing HPEM technologies onto military weapons platforms.
Officials of the Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., announced a $2.3 million contract Wednesday to Verus Research (formerly XL Scientific LLC) for part of the High-Powered Electromagnetics (HPEM) Research Program.
HPEM technology describes a type of directed RF energy that can destroy or disable unshielded electronic systems in a similar way that electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from a nuclear explosion can burn-out electronic systems.
Unprotected electronics can malfunction or burn out in the presence of high-power electromagnetic fields. Future non-kinetic HPEM weapons are expected to produce electronics-killing effects similar to those of nuclear EMP, except over relatively small ranges.