US microwave bomb to make debut in most hi-tech battlefield campaign ever

In the opening hours of the assault on Iraq, the US is likely to unleash a new and devastatingly effective breed of weapon against Saddam Hussein's forces. Launched in a cruise missile, it will fire a massive pulse of microwave energy.

This lightning surge of power will last only a fraction of a second, but, travelling at the speed of light, it will wipe out any enemy weapons systems over a radius of several hundred metres. The really clever bit, however, is that while their tanks, air defence radar, missile systems or communications networks will be rendered useless, the Iraqi personnel operating them will be left unharmed.

The so-called high powered microwave (HPM) weapon, or ebomb, will be the most sophisticated new weapon to get its operational debut in Iraq during a campaign that promises to be the most hi-tech ever fought. The last Gulf war may have marked the moment when space-age weapons - from laser-guided bombs to cruise missiles "smart" enough to know which set of Baghdad traffic lights to turn left at - but as collateral damage figures later proved, the technologies were still largely in their infancy.

"Most of the developments since the last Gulf war have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary," said David Isenberg, senior analyst at the British-American Security Information Council. "They have taken old concepts like precision bombs and used new technology to make them more accurate and reliable. Microwave weaponry is the one thing that is completely new."

The microwave bomb remains shrouded in secrecy, having been under development since the early 1980s at the US air force's directed energy directorate, based at Kirtland air base in New Mexico. But a declassified research report written in 2000 by former director of the air force's HPM programme makes it clear that the ebomb is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

"Several HPM technologies have matured to the point where they are now ready for the transition from engineering and manufacturing development to deployment as operational weapons," Colonel Eileen Walling said.

Little detail is known about latest versions of the weapon but experts say it will use the energy from a conventional explosion to create a flash of microwave energy which travels in an arc in front of the missile. This energy travels into electronic equipment and fries the internal circuitry, either through the antennae, radar dome or other sensors, known as the front door, or through cracks, trailing wires or metal conduits, known as the back door. Every electronic system within the weapon's conical footprint will be affected, meaning that a single HPM can be used to attack multiple targets.

Electronics

Virtually every modern weapon system is vulnerable, said Col Walling. "In recent years, the modern battlefield has become a 'target rich' environment for high power microwave weapons. Except for the standard rifle, gun, knife or grenade, virtually all military equipment contains some electronics."

One of the key targets will be the fibre optic communications system which has been installed by Chinese contractors and which is one of the few technological advances enjoyed by Saddam's forces since 1991. Destroying this network early on would cut his forces off from the centre. HPMs can also be used against the deep hardened bunkers used by the Iraqis to house command and control facilities. Although they are extremely difficult to hit with conventional bombs, the bunkers must have outlets to the surface for communications, ventilation and electricity, all of which offer gateways for the microwave pulse.

Air defence systems will be another main target, according to the Washington thinktank, the Lexington institute. "Even a limited attack on an air defence network could have a devastating impact on its effectiveness," concluded Loren Thompson, the institute's senior defence analyst.

Then there are the wider political imperatives which make the microwave bomb attractive for planners. Because it is equipment and not humans that are affected by the energy pulse, the weapon fits exactly with the US and British governments' commitment to target Iraqi weapon systems and infrastructure rather than troops. There is also, in theory at least, a smaller risk of civilian casualties than with conventional weapons.

That may tempt US commanders to use HPMs against the web of air defence sites around Baghdad. But defence experts say it is unlikely that they would be used so close to a civilian population where there is a risk of civil facilities such as hospital equipment or water treatment plants also being destroyed by the energy surge.

"There is no doubt that they will use them in Iraq," said Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at Bradford university. "But if they used them in Baghdad there would be no way they could avoid having an impact on civilians."

The microwave bomb is not the only advance since the last Gulf war. In 1991, only about 10% of the bombs dropped on Iraq were precision-guided munitions. And, despite the claims of US commanders, the laser-guided bombs that were dropped were often inaccurate, killing many civilians, because the lasers could not penetrate cloud or battlefield smoke.

Guided

In this campaign, however, more than 80% of the ordnance will be guided and will use far more reliable satellite guidance technology. The most common weapon will be the joint direct attack munition (JDAM) a tailkit which can convert a "dumb" freefall bomb into a precision smart weapon. The JDAM contains a tiny receiver which uses global positioning system satellites to steer the bomb to the target. The satellite signals, unlike laser, are unaffected by cloud or smoke.

RAF Tornados will also be equipped with the new paveway EP2 bomb. It contains satellite and laser guidance technology, allowing mission planners to pick whichever method is most appropriate for the target and conditions.

"Satellite-guided bombs will make a big difference to the way bombing missions are flown compared to the last Gulf war, especially for RAF pilots who suffered a lot of losses because they were having to fly so low in daylight to deliver their bombs," said Nick Cook, aviation consultant for Jane's Defence Weekly. "They also mean there is a much smaller chance of collateral damage. Although that relies on human beings programming in the correct target coordinates."

Other weapons will be far less sophisticated, relying on brute force rather than technological finesse. Last week, the US released test images of a 21,000lb bomb known as the massive ordnance air blast bomb or Moab. Far more powerful than the 15,000lb daisy cutters used against Taliban caves in Afghanistan, the weapon is designed to solve one of the US's biggest headaches: destroying very hard, deeply buried targets. The Moab can penetrate earth and concrete and maximises most of the blast effect underground.

But while this would be extremely useful against buried chemical or biological weapons, with the massive explosive power vapourising the agents, experts doubt whether the Moab will be ready in time for this campaign.

That will leave the job of bunker busting to the 5000lb GBU-28. The 19ft-long laser-guided munition was rushed into service during the last Iraq campaign and is capable of penetrating about 20ft of concrete or 100ft of earth.

While these new weapons are likely to ensure that Saddam's forces are quickly overrun, the real test will be whether they are clever enough to avoid civilian deaths in the process. The pattern of past conflicts has consistently been that technology is never quite as discriminating as the military would have us believe.

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