DOW-UAP-D121, AAWSAP DIRD, Pulsed High-Power Microwave Source Technology, January 2010
Department of War · 1/28/10 · Las Vegas, Nevada · Document
DOW-UAP-D121, AAWSAP DIRD, Pulsed High-Power Microwave Source Technology, January 2010 is indexed as a Department of War record with incident date 1/28/10 and location Las Vegas, Nevada. This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD surveys pulsed high-power microwave (HPM) source technology and argues that such systems remain of military interest because they can disrupt or damage electronic systems with short, intense electromagnetic pulses. The report reviews the main source types and the supporting technologies they depend on, including high-voltage insulation, switching, cathode materials, antennas, and pulse-power generation. It emphasizes the difficulty of building systems that are compact, efficient, and practical to field, since short pulse durations, antenna size, heating, detectability, and beam or signal quality all impose hard engineering limits. Its overall conclusion is that the technology has significant potential military value, but that further progress depends on advances in cathodes, predictive modeling, high-speed high-voltage switching, and low-loss insulation, while compact ultrawideband systems will remain difficult because of basic physical constraints on antenna design. Redactions have been made to protect the identity of eyewitnesses, the location of government facilities, or potentially sensitive information about military sites not related to UAP. No redactions have been made to any files released under President Trump's directive concerning information about the nature or existence of any encounter reported as a UAP or related phenomena.
Notable / anomalous element
- The main differences lie in the techniques of beam formation; the use of pulsed, large magnitude axial magnetic fields for beam transport; and the application of relativistic voltages and very high beam currents. (native PDF text, page 25)
- The pre-pulse phase of breakdown occurs at the speed of light in the media since it is essentially a field phenomenon. (native PDF text, page 20)
- 9HL'f Figure 13 shows (a) Vlasov antenna (a) orig ins and (b) a Vlasov antenna attached to a cylindrical MILO. (native PDF text, page 35)
Details
- This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Warning Office's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. (native PDF text, page 2)
- Ulilii 0PtLY Contents Summary. vi Critical Technologies. (native PDF text, page 3)
- 16 Pulsed High-Power Microwave Sources. (native PDF text, page 4)
- Active Denial System With FLAPS Antenna. (native PDF text, page 4)
- Cross-Section Drawing of HS With Point Geometry Converter, Brewster Angle Window, and Extended-Ground-Plane Antenna. (native PDF text, page 4)
- HS Output Section With the Point Geometry Converter Feeding an Extended-Ground-Plane Antenna Through a Brewster Angle Window. (native PDF text, page 4)
- Phoenix Radiated Pulse at 8.5 Meters. (native PDF text, page 4)
- Jolt Radiated Electric Field Waveform at 85 Meters. (native PDF text, page 5)
Tags: War Department, Nevada, AAWSAP, Technical research, Weapons, Lights