Good news India's first land based DEW system is ready .
It is HPM ( high power microwave ) based.
When will it be tested ?
Will it be like the railgun we tested recently i.e. small scale prototype or a larger more usable model ?
Full operational configuration , based on a 8x8 man trailer
About tests no idea
MTRDC was working on it. Not read anywhere, that its got into operational config. LASTEC was working on 2kw laser as dew with 1 km range. Kalyani group was also working on dew, but they specifically had said, anti missile function.
Interesting that you are saying the HPM has been mounted on a platform. Any place to read?
When will it be tested ?
Will it be like the railgun we tested recently i.e. small scale prototype or a larger more usable model ?
Copy pasta :
DRDO first land based mobile DEW system(HPM-HIGH POWER MICROWAVE). It can generate 500 MW of RF power in S-band. It is mast mounted and the complete system is mounted on a 8x8 trailer.
DRDO is working on new systems with increased power and range(strategic level)
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Is this the thing guys ? @hellfire @Killbot
500 MW is no joke. Point this at a aircraft(a slow moving, low flying kind) and you will fry the computers and bring it down. Point this at any thing carrying any combustible substance inside a metallic container/enclosure(like say missiles, bombs, rockets, fuel tank of planes, artillery shells, MBT guns etc.), it would explode and do some severe internal damage. In most cases the target will be left in pieces and beyond repair.
The mast on which the HPM is mounted appears to be similar to the telescopic masts already in service. The Army uses it to mount BFSR-MR, LORROS, Himshakti EW system.
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As is shown above, the mast can be extended to take the HPM to a height enabling a greater engagement bubble. The truck is probably a BEML, AL or TATA, there seems to be a oil fired generator mounted ahead of the HPM mount. The boxy structure behind it might be the command and control station. It also looks like there are some day-light/thermal cameras present along with laser range finders, these things are necessary for proper aiming.
As is standard with all new weapons, it will probably take some time for it to mature. It will also take some time for the users to come up with proper usage, maintenance, repairs, overhaul etc. procedures.
What is the effective range of this thing though ? As for the strategic HPM being developed, what is the end goal ? Shooting down ballistic missiles in ascent stage ? That ought to be fun.
DRDO’s Laser Science and Technology Centre(LASTEC) was building a 300 kW laser system, what happened to that ? still on track ?
Once these systems are tried, tested and proven on a ground based platform, it won't be very difficult for it to migrate to naval platforms. Although aerial platforms might prove to be a significant challenge, it is totally worth the effort if we can get it to work.
I remember the rumoured P-18 destroyer was supposed to carry DEW including lasers and HPMs. Let's see where it goes.
None taken. I wasn't commenting on how HPMs work(I don't know really) but what effect it has. My understanding of effects of microwave, however flawed it maybe, was from open source articles about the side effects of microwave exposure on metallic object and electronics.Sir no offence but your understanding of how hpm work is kind of flawed
I never said it was extra ordinary. I only said it was already in use.And that is a telescopic mast , nothing extraordinary about it.
None taken. I wasn't commenting on how HPMs work(I don't know really) but what effect it has. My understanding of effects of microwave, however flawed it maybe, was from open source articles about the side effects of microwave exposure on metallic object and electronics.
Effects on electronics exposed to high-power microwaves on the basis of a relativistic backward-wave oscillator operating on the X-band : (Not S-band, I know. But close enough)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09205071.2017.1354728
From the paper :
"The effects on electronic devices exposed to HPMs, the failure of information equipment, and modulation of and interference with the received signal through a theoretical model of the threshold power relative to the influence on the target were confirmed in a high-output microwave exposure environment. Particularly, information devices containing semiconductors can undergo serious failures and breakdowns due to the thermal secondary breakdown caused by the high-output transient electromagnetic waves, and it is a theoretical consideration that reverse voltage occurs due to the generation of surge current when caught in the PN-junction region."
What happens if you put metals in Microwave : (as in the cooking device, not weapons)
What’s Up With That: Metal in the Microwave Explodes—Or Does It?
From the paper :
"Well, at a microscopic level most metals are lattice arrangements of atoms with a bunch of electrons freely floating around between them. The microwave radiation will attract all these electrons as it bounces around inside your microwave oven, pulling them back and forth, and this generates heat inside the metal. A large sheet of very thin metal, like a big piece of aluminum foil, can in fact heat up extremely rapidly, becoming so hot that it could start to burn the microwave. So don’t do that.
But the real danger comes from having metal with kinks or dead ends in it. That’s because as the electrons get shuffled back and forth, they will meet up with other electrons. This can create concentrated spots of negative charge. Electrons will naturally be repelled from areas where there is too much charge. If these negative spots happen to find themselves in a place where they are near air, like in the tines of a fork or a kink in crumpled aluminum foil, the electrons will jump away, creating a spark and ionizing the air molecules into a plasma. Particularly awesome high-school physics teachers will demonstrate this effect to a classroom by placing a CD in the microwave and watching the sparks fly. The sparks themselves probably won't start a fire but if they hit something flammable, like wax paper that you also put inside the microwave, it can lead to a situation where you’re running for the extinguisher."
Now I fully understand if the effects of a S-band HPM is different then the ones mentioned here. But since I don't know anything of the specs of the weapon, all I could do was speculate using open source information.
But if you could enlighten me about the effects and possible uses of the HPM here. I'd be delighted.
I never said it was extra ordinary. I only said it was already in use.