{"id":30304,"date":"2019-07-19T15:43:05","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T15:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/19\/pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:25:26","slug":"pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2019\/07\/19\/pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon scientists are making talking plasma laser balls for use as non-lethal weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=7c46e152-8771-46f0-8eb3-b99926b547cf\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-7c46e152-8771-46f0-8eb3-b99926b547cf.png\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pentagon is advancing work on plasma technology that can deliver intelligible speech to nearby locations and create non-lethal deterrents.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of beaming a flashing light or shouting over a loudspeaker to keep people away from sensitive areas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/gearscout\/shot-show\/2018\/01\/24\/these-new-non-lethal-options-can-help-troops-fighting-in-cities\/\" target=\"_blank\">new technology<\/a> being developed could allow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/09\/04\/marines-want-electroshock-rounds-to-fire-from-standard-weapons\/\" target=\"_blank\">troops to fire<\/a> a laser that can form a \u201cplasma ball\u201d that talks to the potential intruders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Laser Induced Plasma Effect program is part of the Joint Non-lethal Weapons Directorate program to find ways to deter, stun, basically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/06\/15\/like-hot-sauce-in-your-face-the-armys-newest-non-lethal-weapon-is-spicy\/\" target=_blank>stop adversaries short of killing them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use of directed energy, or lasers, includes heating up a target\u2019s skin to extremely uncomfortable levels without burning them, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/01\/22\/this-flash-bang-grenade-has-safety-tactical-and-timing-features-not-available-in-the-military-today\/\" target=\"_blank\">blasting confusing noises <\/a>or giving voice commands such as, \u201cStop or we\u2019ll be forced to fire upon you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/03\/22\/the-future-of-nonlethal-laser-weapons-dazzling-lights-to-talking-plasma-balls\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Soldier-dazzler.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The future of nonlethal laser weapons: Dazzling lights to talking plasma balls<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Troops have seen nonlethal weapons alternatives grow from flashlights to a host of visual, audio and physical tools.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can pass through glass into a building but not yet penetrate other solid barriers, so in its initial stages, the technology would be best used to protect static areas such as forward bases or permanent installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But with the right power source setup, a device could be mounted to a small vehicle and make for mobile crowd control or another tool for vehicle patrols to keep people away from convoys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers such as Brittany Lynn, a scientist with Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, are fine tuning how to pass sound waves through the laser and they recently completed another round of testing in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part of that involves tweaking algorithms to create human speech in the right wavelengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next steps, said Dave Law, chief scientist with the directorate, is to push distances out of the short range of a laboratory setting to 100 meters, then to multiple kilometers. Law gave an optimistic timeline of about five years before the tech could be through readiness levels and passed on to troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This past year, Lynn told Military Times, they\u2019ve been adjusting high and low frequencies to mimic human speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early speech mimicking this year has provided a boost to the program that Law sees as promising. That\u2019s because once that is solved, the distance problem is much less difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow I can put it anywhere. Range doesn\u2019t make any difference,\u201d Law said in an interview with Military Times last year. \u201cPut plasma at a target, modulate it and it can create a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the setup can also act as a reusable flashbang that can pulse 155 decibel frequencies near continuously, as compare to standard flashbang grenades that can make one, sometimes two loud blasts to disorient people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That increases Tactics, Techniques and Procedures use of flashbangs from seconds to minutes, Law said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For voice commands, the quality doesn\u2019t have to be crystal clear to get the message across, Lynn said. A mobile phone speaker runs at about 8 kilohertz and the human voice ranges to 20 kilohertz. So, there\u2019s leeway in the fidelity of the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The laser causes a similar effect that a jet airplane does when it creates a sonic boom, both Law and Lynn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re doing the same thing but instead of doing an airplane, we have those electrons,\u201d Law said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hurdle is creating the effect in a portable 5- to 10-kHz laser, Lynn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The laser strips away electrons and creates a white ball. That\u2019s what the recipient would see, or feel, on the other end of the laser device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The skin heating option works in a very similar way, but to a different effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The laser-induced plasma weapon uses very high-energy lasers at a very short pulse rate to strip the electrons off a gas, creating plasma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is then used to poke through clothing and drill smaller than microscopic holes in a person\u2019s skin. The drilling doesn\u2019t cause damage but it does set off nerve responses, making the person very uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s basically going to hurt,\u201d Law said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Past efforts hit some of the objectives but couldn\u2019t quite get the voice commands to work, according to a posting on the Small Business Innovation Research program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s from a current request by the Marine Corps for a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser System.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sounds can now move through the laser frequencies, and developers expect a usable weapon in the next five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":103003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,106,29,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3318],"class_list":["post-30304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battlefield-tech","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"Q5SC5LHXRVHORGBCYJ27XC6E7U","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2019\/07\/19\/pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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