Saturday,2 October 2021 (YJC)_ Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons are not new but they are destructive and effective.
It travels at Mach 6, creates a chemical explosion over a major city and generates an electromagnetic pulse that instantaneously fries communication and power lines — essentially crippling the populace, within seconds.
While electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons are not new, they are destructive and effective — and that is what Chinese military scientists are counting on.
According to the team of researchers at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, the new missile, which has a range of 3,000 kilometres at six times the speed of sound (an estimated 25-minute flight), would stay within the earth’s atmosphere to dodge space-based early warning systems, UK’s The Sun reported.
Once over the target area (at an altitude not disclosed), a chemical explosion is triggered that would compress an electrically charged magnet known as a “flux compression generator.”
This would convert the shock energy to short but extremely powerful EMPs.
The researchers also noted that compared to other non-nuclear EMP bombs, there would be no batteries in this weapon. In place of the dry cells, super-capacitors will be used.
According to LiveScience.com, an EMP is a massive burst of electromagnetic energy that can occur naturally or be generated deliberately. This energy, by the way, passes harmlessly through humans.
Such a magnetic field causes electrons in nearby wires to move, thereby inducing damaging power surges in any electronics within range.
While many experts don’t think EMPs pose a big threat, some people argue that these types of weapons could be used to cause widespread disruption to electricity-dependent societies.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, overhyped the capabilities of China and Russia’s Mach-five missiles during his March 4, 2020 testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
“There is no defense against hypersonic,” Milley said. “You’re not going to defend against it. Those things are going so fast you’re not going to get it.”
While currently, there is no operational defence system that can deny the use of these strategic weapons, some experts say it might be possible to intercept a hypersonic weapon during its final, “terminal” moments of flight.
That’s because a hypersonic missile is slower during its terminal phase than an ICBM is.
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