US reluctant to use 'ray gun' in Iraq
{image-US12
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news.oneindia.in}Washington,
June
2:
The
US
military
reportedly
has
a
fully
functioning,
non-lethal
ray
gun,
but
is
reluctant
to
deploy
it
in
Iraq
or
any
other
war
zone.
According
to
news.com.au,
the
weapon
sends
out
an
electromagnetic
beam
made
up
of
very
high
frequency
radio
waves
that
causes
a
burning
sensation
in
the
top
layer
of
skin.
Officially known as the "Active Denial System" the weapon has been proven to work in tests but has yet to be used in combat. Colonel Kirk Hymes, head of the US Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, is in charge of the ray gun program and said it would be ready to go to Iraq within months. He told 60 Minutes the ray gun's blast would cause pain to anyone advancing, but would not permanently injure them. With only 13.1 million dollars allocated to the program out of the Pentagon's 475 billion dollars annual budget it is unlikely to be used in combat soon.
ANI