Without noise and dust: the Pentagon finishes testing a new non-lethal weapon HiJENKS

The US Navy and Air Force are testing new weapons designed to combat modern electronic devices. The HiJENKS (High-Powered Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike Weapon) missile does not blow up houses, warehouses, or military equipment, does not harm people, it simply disables the enemy’s electronics, making them useless. The HiJENKS rocket is currently undergoing final testing in the California desert.

This missile is designed to penetrate enemy territory in order to use an electromagnetic pulse to disable enemy electronics. It releases a pulse of such power that it can cause a short circuit in anything from cell phones to electrical grids.

The network publication "Popular Mechanics" recalls that the principle of operation of the new weapon was peeped from nature long ago. So, in 1859, a solar storm produced on Earth a pulse of electromagnetic energy of such power that it put out of action all the telegraph stations in Great Britain. In 1962, during a nuclear test conducted by the United States in the atmosphere, a release of energy in the central Pacific Ocean disabled electronic devices in the Hawaiian Islands. That is why, in the event of a global war, it is also planned to detonate thermonuclear bombs high above the territory of the enemy in the hope that the release of energy will disable electronic devices on earth.

In the 1990s, the Pentagon began to increasingly test non-lethal weapons, which, unlike traditional ones, fulfill their military mission without the explosive or kinetic effects of "hard hitting".

The vehicle for the first version of the CHAMP electromagnetic weapon was the AGM-86 cruise missile, which is launched from a bomber. When approaching a target in enemy territory, the warhead detonates, which instantly creates electronic chaos and makes enemy electronics completely useless, but without damaging the infrastructure and endangering people's lives.

The AGM-86 missile, penetrating enemy airspace at low altitude, moves from target to target, releasing pulses of energy. This weapon can attack up to seven targets for one hour. One of the many possible targets for these weapons are air defense radars, including those that are part of the Russian S-400 missile system.

However, the AGM-86 cruise missile was withdrawn from service in 2019 as the Pentagon began developing a more advanced version of the electromagnetic weapon, increasing its power and reducing its weight and size so that it can be installed on various delivery vehicles, including drones. HiJENKS became such a weapon.

Experts note that non-lethal weapons - both CHAMP and HiJENKS - are not without their drawbacks, since they can threaten the safety of civilian aircraft that are at risk.