At a time when the world is analyzing the attack attributed to Israel in the Isfahan area and its results, it has been revealed that the US has deployed a weapon in the Middle East that can change the balance of power in the region. Journalist Ronald Kessler, former journalist for the “Wall Street Journal” and “Washington Post” and author of Books about the CIA, revealed in an article for the British “Daily Mail” that the US Air Force had secretly deployed microwave missiles capable of disabling Iran’s nuclear facilities, without causing casualties.
The missiles called CHAMP, English acronym for the Advanced Microwave Missile Project with high power for damaging electronics, are a product of the Boeing Corporation’s subsidiary, Phantom. The first tests of the system were carried out already in 2012, and from 2019 the missiles are considered operational.
According to the Daily Mail, the microwave weapons are loaded onto cruise missiles, and those are dropped from the B-52 strategic bomber. Those cruise missiles have a range of about 1,100 km, and when they enter the enemy’s airspace, they move at a low altitude and emit high-intensity electromagnetic pulses (HPM), which fry computer chips and disable any electronic device in the vicinity without causing further damage. Therefore, according to Estimates, although the Ayatollah regime perceives its nuclear facilities and especially the underground ones as immune – it is not at all certain that these are completely immune.
An illustration of CHAMP’s massive damage was obtained in the test of the missiles in the space of Utah in 2012. Many computers and security systems were placed in the two-story building. The electromagnetic pulses caused the entire spectrum of electronic systems to be disabled, including even cameras placed to monitor the damage. Despite the success, the Obama administration did not advance the performance of the system. It was only after the Obama administration was replaced by that of Donald Trump that the project progressed to fruition.
The Daily Mail notes in the Iranian context that the electromagnetic pulses are capable of penetrating bunkers and disabling installations, without any harm to humans. Moreover, if a bunker is buried inside a mountain – the electromagnetic pulse penetrates the facilities through antennas, electrical cables and communication lines. Therefore, in the bottom line, it does not appear that there is an underground military or nuclear facility whose electronic systems are immune to microwave weapons.
One of the hottest technologies in the field of air defense
Microwave is an important means not only in the military offensive aspect, but also one of the hottest technologies in the field of air defense – along with the laser systems. Microwave defense systems are being developed in the US Air Force and Navy, as well as in the private sector. These non-kinetic electromagnetic attack means use microwaves to neutralize electronic components critical to the enemy’s attack means. In them, for example, swarms of drones that can fall together in one intercept cluster.
Another significant player in the world of anti-UAV microwave systems is the Raytheon unit of the American defense giant RTX. Raytheon has already been awarded a contract with the US Army for the supply of anti-UAV microwave systems, with the first delivery intended to be carried out next year. The American company is a partner of Rafael, the manufacturer of the Iron Dome, in the David slingshot project. About two months ago, Rafael and Raytheon inaugurated a production plant in Camden, Arkansas, where the “Tamir” missiles will be produced for the Dome air defense system. Iron and “Sky Hunter”, the American version of the interceptor missile that will be used by the US Marines and other customers.
On the other hand, it can be said that the two companies are also simultaneously business rivals in the field of air defense: as part of the “Magan Or” laser interception system project, which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2025, Rafael is the developer of the system’s launcher and Elbit is the manufacturer of the laser itself . In an ideal world, it would be good to have all the interception technologies so that one complements the other, but in a world where we strive for savings within the framework of armament economy – laser or microwave-based interception systems are largely in the same competitive category.
The reason why both Raytheon and Rafael operate both on the front of the Iron Dome and David’s Slingshot as well as in microwave or laser interception systems, is that those new systems will be a complementary layer – not a replacement. Microwave and laser systems are limited in range in relation to, for example, an iron dome. Also, the efficiency of the laser decreases in different situations such as cloudy weather. On the other hand, using them is significantly cheaper – therefore they are considered complementary systems to the existing air defense systems.
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