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Missile uses microwaves to destroy electronics

Boeing has announced the first ever test of a new missile system known as Champ. Champ stands for Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project. The goal of the project is to create a missile that can defeat any electronic target with little or no collateral damage.
 
The missile test was conducted on October 16 at 10:32 AM at the Utah Test and Training Range. The Champ missile was launched, and as it approached its first target, it fired a burst of High Power Microwaves into a two-story building built on the test range. Inside the building were rows of personal computers and electrical systems that were turned on to help gauge the effects that the missile would have on the electronic equipment.
 
According to Boeing, seconds after the missile passed over its target the PC monitors went dark as Champ knocked out computer and electrical systems in the target building.


“This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare,” said Keith Coleman, CHAMP program manager for Boeing Phantom Works. “In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy’s electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive,”

Boeing says that the television cameras that were set up to monitor the experiment were knocked off-line by Champ as well. The missile hit seven targets during the one-hour test that proved it was able to degrade and defeat electronics inside test buildings. The team working on the project is currently studying the data collected during the test.

“We know this has some capabilities and some impact, we’re really trying to engage the customer to see if there is a way we can actually get this fielded and implemented sooner than later,” Dodd said.

“Today we turned science fiction into science fact,” Coleman said.

The Champ missile had its first test in 2011.

Sources: Boeing, The Verge


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RE: How about Hardened targets?
By RufusM on 10/24/2012 11:49:06 AM , Rating: 3
If we can do it to someone, they can probably do it to us. This doesn't sound that difficult to reverse engineer.


"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine." -- Bill Gates

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