Directed energy weapons shoot painful but non-lethal beams – are similar weapons behind the Havana syndrome? by Iain Boyd, Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder – September 17, 2021 8.43am EDT

Disclosure statement – Iain Boyd receives funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, Lockheed-Martin Corporation, Northrop-Grumman Corporation, L3-Harris Corporation.

The latest episodes of so-called Havana syndrome, a series of unexplained ailments afflicting U.S. and Canadian diplomats and spies, span the globe. They include two diplomats in Hanoi, Vietnam - which disrupted Vice President Kamala Harris’s foreign travel schedule - in August, several dozen reports at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna earlier this year, and a pair of incidents at the White House last November.

The cause of these incidents is unknown, but speculation in the U.S. centers on electromagnetic beams.

If Havana syndrome turns out to be caused by weapons that shoot energy beams, they won’t be the first such weapons. As an aerospace engineer and former Vice Chair of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, I’ve researched directed energy. I can also personally attest to the effectiveness of directed energy weapons.

In 2020, a study on Havana syndrome by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded that the more than 130 victims experienced some real physical phenomena, and that the cause was most likely some form of electromagnetic radiation. These incidents began in 2016 with reports of multiple personnel at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, experiencing alarming and unexplained symptoms. The symptoms included a feeling of pressure on the face, loud noises, severe headaches, nausea and confusion. In some cases, the victims seem to have been left with permanent health effects.

Scientists from Cuba’s Academy of Sciences issued a report refuting the U.S. National Academies report and ascribing the reported symptoms to psychological effects or a range of ordinary ailments and preexisting conditions. But based on my own experience, directed energy appears to be a plausible explanation.

Here’s how these beams affect people – At the right wavelength

There is a very wide range of electromagnetic waves that are characterized by wavelength, which is the distance between successive peaks. These waves can interact with different types of matter, including human bodies, in a variety of ways.

The electromagnetic spectrum spans radio waves to gamma waves. NASA

At short wavelengths, a few hundred-billionths of a meter, ultraviolet rays from the Sun can burn the skin’s surface if someone is exposed for too long. Microwaves have longer wavelengths. People use these every day to reheat meals. Microwaves transfer energy into the water molecules inside food.

The U.S. military has developed an Active Denial System that aims microwaves at people to cause pain without injury. U.S. Air Force

The U.S. military has developed a directed energy technology that shoots beams of a slightly longer wavelength in a focused area over distances up to a mile. This directed energy technology was designed for nonlethal control of crowds. When these waves interact with a person, they pass through the skin and transfer energy to the water that lies just under the surface.

I had the opportunity to be zapped by one of these systems. I stood about a half-mile from the source and the beam was turned on. The portion of my body exposed to the beam got hot really quickly, and I immediately stepped out of the beam. The feeling was as though someone had just opened the door of a large furnace right by me.

At even longer wavelengths, electromagnetic radiation can interact with electronic systems and can be used to disable computers and control systems. For these waves, interaction with matter generates electrical currents and fields that interfere with the electrical systems. The military is developing these technologies to defend against drone attacks.

Defense through detection – It’s plausible that at just the right wavelength, an electromagnetic beam could be projected over hundreds of yards to create the symptoms seen in Havana syndrome incidents. If this is the case, it’s likely that these beams are interfering with the electrical functions of the brain and central nervous system.

For example, the Frey effect involves microwaves activating the auditory sensory nerves. Other studies have noted potential effects of microwaves on the central nervous system, such as decreased response time, social dysfunction and anxiety.

Further study is needed to determine the cause of Havana syndrome incidents. Unfortunately, this type of electromagnetic radiation does not leave a telltale trace like sunburn, which makes it difficult to be certain of the explanation.

While the results of the National Academies study were made public, it is likely that federal agencies are carrying out additional activities behind the scenes to try to explain these incidents and determine who is to blame. Similar to responding to cyberattacks, though, the government may be reluctant to release too much information to the public because it could reveal techniques for detecting and countering the attacks.

If the source of Havana syndrome turns out to be electromagnetic waves, then in principle, buildings could be hardened against them. However, it would be expensive and would still leave people vulnerable outdoors. Perhaps the best option to prevent further attack is detection. It is relatively simple and inexpensive to install sensors to detect electromagnetic waves on buildings and vehicles. Such sensors could also help identify the location of the source of the attacks and, in this way, act as a deterrent.

Assuming Havana syndrome is the result of deliberately targeted electromagnetic beams, employees of the U.S. government and other nations will remain susceptible to these attacks until governments take such defensive measures.

9 Comments

Rob Jaworski – 6 days ago – Of course, the US is working on its own electromagnetic based weapons. As part of the tax paying American public, should I feel proud that I’m contributing to the development of this kind of weaponry? Right now, I don’t. In the 2013 video accompanying this article, the USMC Lt General R. T. Tryon is expounding on the usefulness of such hardware, and “encourages us to continue to develop the (Active Denial) System in this regard.” Looking ahead, I wonder when will such gear be made available to local law enforcement via the LESO/1033 Program for their perceived need of crowd control. I appreciate Dr. Boyd’s focus on getting to the bottom of what’s behind the Havana syndrome, and focusing on detecting, if not defending against, attacks involving EM radiation. That’s where our focus should be.

Ray Reese – 6 days ago – I’ve been saying since day one that this was a microwave weapon. All that nonsense about sound waves and ‘crickets’ made no sense… A Microwave is directional and cooks parts of the body that appear to be affected by this device.. Hence the ringing sounds as it damages delicate inner ears and the mind numbness as it cooks parts of the brain… I bet a small and very focused beam of microwave transmission could be packaged into a suitcase and aimed through walls at specific targets.

Margaret M. Glaser – 1 day ago – “Federal agencies are carrying out additional activities behind the scenes to try to explain these incidents.” I hate to say it, but twenty-one years of observing federal agencies dealing with EMF bioeffects would make me change “explain these incidents” to “explain away these incidents.” From the beginning, FDA let the telecom industry do its own “safety research” in exchange for agreeing not to regulate them. The industry (CTIA) ignored the DNA breaks that showed (and still show over and over) in the research. The FDA backed away from the conclusions of the very $28 million research study (NTP/NIH) that they requested over a decade ago. The conclusions of the NTP, after review by a select expert panel, was that there was “clear evidence of carcinogenicity.” And the Ramazzini (research) Institute soon backed it up with very similar results. Animal studies on neurological effects of EMF are plentiful (ca 600 studies) and most show these effects occurring: RF 73%, ELF 91%, both groups of frequencies being relevant in man-made digital signals. https://bioinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/13-Neurological-Effects-Studies-Percent-Comparison-2020.pdf The Havana Syndrome was no big surprise to people who already knew about the similar American Embassy situation that occurred in Moscow decades ago, written about by U. of Michigan history professor Nicholas Steneck way back in 1984 (The Microwave Debate). The current crop of federal agencies involved in RF knows little about EMF biological science now. Not like their predecessors back in the 80s and 90s who were involved in research and expressed their concerns to the FCC to no avail. Before they got defunded in the mid-90s. Perhaps because the federal agencies work hand in hand with the industry. What they know is generally limited to what the industry deems important. You write, “the government may be reluctant to release too much information to the public because it could reveal techniques for detecting and countering the attacks.” I think it is because it could also reveal that microwave radiation itself may not be as super safe as the public thinks it is. –

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