Air Force turns 'pain gun' on AP reporter

We're all quite familiar with the Air Force's so-called 'pain gun' by now -- the millimeter wave weapon that gives targets an unbearable, full-body burning sensation and that may or may not have been recommended for testing on Americans by branch secretary Wynn -- but can you ever really 'know' a crowd control device without seeing it in action? Thankfully the military doesn't think so, which is why the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program held what must have been a fun-filled media day this past January, highlighted by the screams and flight response of AP reporter and curiously-willing guinea pig Elliot Minor. In the video after the break, you'll see Minor react to a brief encounter with the pain gun, and although he doesn't cry and wet himself like some might expect our colleagues in the MSM to do, he does admit that the weapon is "quite effective." Apparently there are some more vids of the Air Force's new toy bringing the pain on the linked site, but the military must be spending a lot more money on hurting people than web hosting, because the first clip hadn't even loaded by the time we finished this post.

[Via Danger Room]

[kP @ Mar 4th 2008 10:44AM]

The weapons we make to point outward eventually always get aimed back at us.

[Mr Bob @ Apr 2nd 2007 11:51AM]

now that that government can cook you liver at 200 yards, some one break out the chianti.

[Sinbios @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:51PM]

This differs from rubber bullets how?

[Russ @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:04PM]

God bless Amurica!

[Todd @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:03PM]

I expect this to be used on us gadget fans as we line up at the major release of new gaming consoles, DAPs, etc.

Best Buy and Wally World employees rejoice!

[Lemmiwinks @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:10PM]

Someone engineer this into a game controller immediately.

[Eric @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:32PM]

take THAT, liberal media

[thomas_malkin @ Apr 2nd 2007 10:54PM]

Weirdly enough, the media will be the first the Blackwater mercs will hose with the pain ray when Bush or Bush the Second declares elections suspended. Burn, reporters, burn.
Seriously. This weapon is designed to shut down unarmed civilian protest. And who would be doing that protesting? Why, us, or we would if there weren't microwave pain beams in the hands of the cops and private armies. Huzzah! No more protestors on the streets, ever, no matter how many secret prison camps we fill.

[Coen Ran @ Apr 2nd 2007 12:33PM]

I love the man on the background@42 seconds:
"Just keep the crowd back please".

USE THE GUN!
Geez..

[wraith808 @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:15PM]

Rubber bullets can (and do) kill and cause serious injuries. This pain thing seems to leave no lasting effects, so I know which one I'd rather have used on me- Ok, I'd rather have none, but given a choice of the two...

[drstrangegun @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:14PM]

"This differs from rubber bullets how?"

In that it can't kill you and doesn't leave physical injury?

[Dan @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:17PM]

"Welcome ... to Jurassic Park"

[A_B @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:23PM]

Based on the guy's reaction, I think the working title of the gun should be "The Effeminizer."

[Moby Disk @ Apr 3rd 2007 12:05PM]

Sinbios asks: This differs from rubber bullets how?

1) I believe it has an area effect
2) It is theoretically safer for the target(s).

In a strange way, these advantages make it potentially more dangerous than rubber bullets, because it could be used with less discrimination. Shooting a protestor has certain legal and ethical implications that might not be as clear-cut when using a non-damaging area effect weapon. It can also be socially demoralizing (another double-edged sword)

[Rolf Shervey @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:35PM]

"This differs from rubber bullets how?"
Well I could suggest that you be the next test subject and save the words (you would understand the difference very quickly), but here goes:

Let's make a list:
1) instantaneous beam propagation at the speed of light vs. slow moving large-diameter relatively massive projectile (short range, low accuracy)
2) continuous & sweeping beam options to cover large # of targets vs. need for discrete projectiles, i.e. rapid-fire rubber bullets
3) mm wave gun: non-lethal (guaranteed) and non-permanent injury inducing (almost guaranteed) vs. rubber bullets: which are just "usually non-lethal" (many instances of them causing great physical harm when fired at close range) and almost always cause injury beyond the instant effect.
4) low cost of consumables, better field deployment and easier on-going logistics.
5) by extension of 1 & 2 allow better protective options for the persons wielding the weapon to remain behind cover instead of exposing themselves to the person they would otherwise be shooting rubber at.
6) can be mounted at fence posts for area denial, permanently connected to needed facilities and left virtually unattended.
7) effect causes immediate "flight response" where the target is compelled to reverse direction or otherwise leave the area immediately (direction of running away can be dictated wth assistance of the physical barriers and landscape)
8)impervious to body armor, sheilding (other than specially designed for this kind of directed energy weapon- but thats not the kind of thing violent protestors or intruders to military facilities would have) and padding, where as rubber bullets are rendered ineffective with just a little bit of padding around the body.

I think the list could go on and repeat the above points in some way or another.

Next stupid question?

[Wain Katastaic @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:11AM]

He probably won't be the last journalist to suffer such a fate once they start rolling this out as standard equipment.

[catbertz @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:46PM]

Man..I bet the Chinese are drooling over this toy.

[stevgex @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:50PM]

I need one of these to keep the kids off my lawn!

[GQmacguy @ Apr 2nd 2007 1:51PM]

Watch Future Weapons tonight. Are they frying the host with the same demo? It'll be great to see him try to "take it".

[Chris @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:02PM]

They need to put these on the mexican border to keep out the illegals

[Hardcore @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:14PM]

They should put these on city borders to keep out the red necks.

[Adam @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:16PM]

@ Rolf Shervey

8)impervious to body armor, sheilding

^You mean body armor is pervious to this weapon.
Learn english before you bash peoples questions.

[MichaelLC @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:19PM]

The downside is they must get any protesters/combatents inside the small spray-painted square first.

[shmengie @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:18PM]

ooooh...i hope my dominatrix buys one of these!

[dougpy @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:40PM]

I bet these guys have some special lightweight materials to help you withstand the pain gun. http://www.mwt-materials.com/

[G-Man @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:06PM]

Hmmm, I wonder if my tinfoil hat will protect me from this.....

[Jeff @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:39PM]

i don't see how anyone can have issues with this. seriously.

we do need something to control unruly crowd, mobs, etc, while being careful to not physically harm anyone, at least permanently.

this sounds and looks like a great tool. without this, you have fire hose, tear gas, rubber bullets, or... a megaphone "please leave this area. there's nothing to see here". errr.. yeah, like that's going to work.

[Jesse S @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:38PM]

I'm all for this, but what happens to people with pacemakers/defibrillators, or other medical devices inside them? People with screws or metal rods in them?

[August @ Apr 2nd 2007 8:17PM]

Hopefully they get the point and don't come back.

[Jeff ODonnell @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:19PM]

I think the only reason the US government is working on Non-Lethal weapons is so they can control the American masses when the oil runs out!

[James @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:22PM]

I'm frankly shocked (pleasantly) to see that we've yet to get hit by the usual deluge of "OH GREAT ANOTHER WEAPON FOR THE IMPERIALIST AMERICANS TO USE AGAINST INNOCENT CIVILIANS" leftard nonsense. I agree with Jeff that this is a major humanitarian step forward. If it has lower operational lethality than the current crop of crowd-control weaponry, I don't see how anybody can possibly argue that it's a bad thing.

Plus, maybe we can make a lower-power version that you can fit in your car or purse for self-defense -- I for one would be much less hesitant to pull one of these things on a mugger than if I were carrying a 9mm for personal protection, considering the liability issues involved.

[thomas_malkin @ Apr 2nd 2007 10:54PM]

okay, what crowd have we ever needed to microwave to "control" them? NRA storming around the convention hall? Pro-war marchers? Protestors threating people at abortion clinics each and every day for over a decade? Republican protestors at the Democratic convention? That crowd of congressional staffers who rioted and forced a shutdown of the 2000 recount in Dade county? Oh, silly me, none of those. "Leftards" will get the torching, and won't that just give you a bug happy grin? This is a weapon to use against people protesting rightist policies. It will never be used against the crowd at a gun convention, and the people who go to such things understand that deeply. It's an anti-Democrat Limbaugh 9000, used to quell uppity anti-Republian protestors. I've watched cops in their hippie-smashing armor at anti-war rallies in Chicago, and they can't wait to burn them some comm-un-ists.

[joe @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:36PM]

This could be the torture device of the new millennium, if indeed there is truly no physical effect beyond pain.

[ouch @ Apr 5th 2007 7:48PM]

just hope the mob does'nt get ahold of this technology

[Brent O. @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:03PM]

If this weapon is supposed to keep the crowd AWAY, why was the guy's first reaction to step sideways and move TOWARDS the gun?

He didn't turn away and run backwards, he ran forwards.

[leland @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:27PM]

He was going to the closet edge of the box. That brings up a good point though, how do they know that the people won't just run to the first place they think is safe. The crowd would scatter, but maybe not in the way that people would think. Also What about people in the back being trampled? If every one in the front row turns and runs that could lead to some serious injuries. Any ways just some food for thought.

[the_darke @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:40PM]

I think the solution to the stampede issue is not to point this directly into a crowd- I know that sounds stupid, but hear me out. This seems like a great way of creating a exclusion zone, rather than a weapon for crowd dispersal per se. So you create a physical barrier- a fence, and then place a secondary exclusion behind that line so that anyone crossing that line "feels the pain" and thus retreats (in theory). That basically allows you to shape the flow of the crowd, create a corridor and move the barrier forward slowly to shepherd them away from whatever you don't want a bunch of angry people with sticks and molotovs near.
Could also allow the creation of an escape route if a pre-planned area was set up. This weapon cannot be used as a direct replacement for water cannon or rubber bullets, if employed correctly it could stop those situations from getting to that point by denying an area to a group.
I think the torture concern is a legitimate one and a fair point. I know any person in the Western world would love to believe that everyone in all our military and non-military branches did not use pain to coerce intelligence retrieval, but the truth is that they do even though it is not tactily (Don't even try to deny it). In the hands of unscruplious interrogators that could be quite a problem- it leaves no physical mark, but a couple of hours of feeling like you cooking from the inside out is going to leave other marks on you, and it is not going to get you reliable information .
Certainly one "toy" to watch out for.

[nikster @ Apr 2nd 2007 8:11PM]

new obligatory equipment for protesters: tinfoil underwear. and mirrors....

[alfonzo @ Apr 2nd 2007 8:59PM]

Love the Hannibal reference.

and
"They should put these on city borders to keep out the red necks."
oh man. beautiful.

[atdt1991 @ Apr 3rd 2007 5:54PM]

... spared no expense ...

[James @ Apr 2nd 2007 11:49PM]

Aaaand the moonbats come out. Seriously, when was the last time the government abused its power to silence anybody not directly accused of serious crimes? This is not going to be used for a fire-hose-on-civil-rights-protesters moment (and I don't need to remind you that SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS ordered that little fiasco).

Bush is not going to institute the draft, Charlie Rangel's barely-coherent froth-lipped rants notwithstanding. Bush is not going to suspend elections, in spite of Al Gore's whine-fests. There is not the slightest shred of evidence that any of this will happen, and so help me if you screech "GITMO" one more time, I will turn this thread around and go home. We're treating enemy combatants about as well as any society has ever treated them. And there is not now, nor is there any reason to think there ever will be, any attempt at silencing dissent by rounding up activists. Hell, the DC police let protesters spray-paint the capitol steps just a few weeks ago.


I'll end this little tirade by pointing out what the weapon is *actually* intended for. The piddly little protests we have here in this country are easily handled by the "hippie-smashing" (Put that in the job description and end all the hiring problems they've been having! Hell, I'll sign up.) cops you allude to. No, the problem is with *real* protesters who present a *real* threat, like the "insurgents" in Iraq, or the "Palestinians" in Israel. Sometimes an angry mob doesn't need to be armed to do real damage, but nobody wants to open fire with real bullets into a big group of women and children. Hence, research into *safe* ways of getting angry mobs broken up quickly.

['EightyFour @ Apr 3rd 2007 12:06AM]

Do you seriously believe that this weapon cant kill or do permanat damage? it can be cranked up, its not an on off thing...seriously, why do you think they are developing weapons that can be used to control or kill people without destroying infrastructure?...this WILL be used against americans, possibly when king george II declares martial law, and calls off the elections next year, or for refuseing a vaccination, be prepared, be heavilly armed...have a defence plan for your home and you family, if you cannot afford to get out of the country...but really....at this point..where can you go? who doest hate us? ....you will probally be killed, but at least youll die on your feet fighting the real enemy instead of dieing slowly in a government work camp...or worse... i pray i am wrong but fear i am right...live free or die

[wtf? @ Apr 9th 2007 6:25PM]

This acts like microwave oven or what?
And damn.. what if you stay for more than few seconds in the "protected" are?

[Village Idiot @ Apr 3rd 2007 10:52AM]

Time to recreate some Thor Shield fabric, currently sold only to law enforcemenet but probably reproducible with some ingenuity. Assuming people CAN run away is a big assumption. What if handicapped? Cornered (real sadistic possibilities here)? Injured? Is it more painful to children? And a good point was brought up earlier about pacemakers, plus what about after we are all implanted with RFID chips? Would this beam fry future identification implants like microwaves fry electronics?
http://www.thorshield.com/prod01.htm

Also, let's not forget that these things have to be built in large quantities, deployed in groups, and backed up with conventional-force support. All of which is really expensive, for one thing. For another, say one of these breaks, or runs out of juice...the crowd can now approach and rip the operatorss livers out (hence the need for deploying in groups w/ backup). A crowd that before needed only conventional methods to keep under control is now really enraged and angry and affronted by being driven off their own streets (in many cases), so this could possibly escalate a crowd to violence rather than control it. But high-tech gear never breaks, right?

Some enterprising hacker will come up with a tinfoil-based modified satellite dish thingy that bounces the beam right back to the source, then the real fun begins.

This technology should be developed into electric snow-shovels or something to keep the neighbor's dog from crapping on my lawn. You know, useful stuff. Too much effort is going into how to force people to do things rather than into figuring out and ameliorating the conditions or issues that cause all the endless unrest. This isn't a tool for the right wing, it's for corporate hegemony. I bet the early victims will include striking garment workers and such from third world countries....Back to work, serfs!

[Dave Zatz @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:25AM]

But does it make popcorn?

[negentropy @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:18PM]

yea, it makes popcorn, but the journalist has to stuff the kernels in his underwear.

I'll pass.

[Matt W. @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:53PM]

I can't believe people think this is safer than rubber bullets. Sure, a rubber bullet could kill you on the spot, but I'm sure the cancer this thing could cause will kill you in 5 to 10 years.

[Chris Taylor @ Apr 6th 2007 3:17AM]

There is no way this is not harmful. I need more information. I would love to "take a spin" inside the effect range. Should be a fascinating experience. Have a contest who can "ride the beam" the longest :-)

How long before police want this for crowd control and I also do not see DEFENDING against it as being very difficult. all you need is sheilding with the proper properties to effect the machines by necessity limited spectrum and frequency.

I can just see it they hit a group of protesters and one of them whips out a expanding "dish" and fires the beam right back at them or better deflects at the police blocking there way (peaceful protest off course if you get violent you get what you deserve and I have no pity for you)

Now thing about this. its vibrating your molecules to make you HOT all over all at once.

Sound familiar? yeah sounds like a microwave to me wonder what it will do to your eyeballs or brain over extended periods.

SO how does it work. Does it do it physically (vibrate your molecules) or does it do it by an "effect" on your nervous system?

If its an "effect" on your nervous system it may very well be non damaging. if it vibrates your molecules its DEFINATELY dangerous. what happens if something fries and it cranks up the wattage. Nuke and egg and let me know what happens.

Still would LOVE to videotape a crowd of rowdy people getting hit by this. Would be absolutely HILARIOUS. Immediate upload to youtube.

Wonder if it does anything to gadgets. Would love to have a close up headcam of my face when hit by it. Would be interesting to analyze the reaction in detail.

SO how do I go about getting them to let me be shot by this. I am a big person at 6'3" 400 pounds so its its all over your surface area it should be especially effective on a body like mine making it even more interesting an experiment.

[antonio @ Apr 7th 2007 11:27PM]

watch people get cancer from those things

[Isaac @ May 8th 2007 10:37AM]

Holy crap there are some scary people in this thread... I mean, seriously... what the hell is with even dragging politics into this? If someone wants to use a weapon, lethal or not, against someone else, they're going to.

The guy only walked 'towards' the gun because it was only switched on for a split second and shut right back off, enough to make him jump, and his immediate reaction was to 'walk it off'. I dunno about you, but my instinct when I want to walk for any reason, for instance shaking off sleeping foot, or small shock, is to walk around. And when I want to walk around, it does not usually involve walking backwards. As I understand it, the beam is non-directional, right? It's not like only his face and chest were zapped, from what I read and saw, the pain is all over at one time.

1) I don't know how it works, but if you're using a pacemaker or such, you probably shouldn't be in a crowd of rioters.
2) Somehow I really fail to see this being rolled out just to be used on a crowd of a couple dozen unruly reporters.
3) I can imagine many more useful situations for this item than non-violent protester crowd control. Like protecting exposed flanks while advancing through hostile urban area, I'm sure you can set one or two up to cover a street. Also, if it can get through walls, it would be a great way for sweep-and-clear missions through suspected insurgent holdouts. If you're wrong, no one gets permanently hurt, no accidental civilian deaths. If you're right, the hostiles will be severely disadvantaged if not flat out neutralized. They also mention base perimeter defense, sounds like a great idea to me.
4) It might make popcorn, throw some kernels in your tin foil hat with some oil and find out.

If you nay-sayers really want, we can stick to the rubber bullets or maybe spike the firehose water with acid for better effect. What the hell is wrong with you people? I hate Bush and the neo-cons as much as the next person, but I don't think he's going to take over the country. That's just paranoid delusional talk.