Until now, the discussion of the sensational news about the plans of the Russian Ministry of Defense continues. The fact is that not so long ago, at a meeting of the Government, Defense Minister A. Serdyukov mentioned the creation of a certain program providing for the development of weapons based on "new physical principles." There were no official detailed comments, but the news became popular and discussed. It is clear that any new technology always attracts attention, moreover, the same "new physical principles" by the efforts of some unscrupulous citizens have become a term to denote a deliberately failed pseudoscientific project. Nevertheless, not a single army in the world would refuse fundamentally new weapons systems that surpass or complement the existing ones. Therefore, in many countries, work has been going on for a long time in such directions, which only a few years ago were considered the lot of science fiction.
Serdyukov spoke about the creation of a whole series of fundamentally new weapons: "beam, geophysical, wave, gene, psychophysical, and so on." It all looks fantastic enough. However, the science fiction of today is often common tomorrow. Let's try to consider and analyze the principles, prospects and problems of the above-mentioned means of destruction of a distant perspective.
Beam weapon
This category includes a fairly wide range of means of destruction. In particular, even the mirrors of Archimedes can be recognized as a beam weapon, with which, according to legend, he repulsed the attack of the Roman fleet. Lasers and directional microwave emitters can be recalled as more modern representatives of this class. Both of these technologies are widely used in industry and everyday life, but they have not yet reached full-fledged combat use. The number of experienced combat laser systems can be counted on one hand (Soviet Sanguine, Compression, A-60 aircraft and American YAL-type systems), and there are even fewer microwave ones. However, both directions are actively used not as the main damaging agent. So, lasers are used to target guided munitions, and microwave radiation is used in detection systems. At the same time, these are all "auxiliary means".
However, lasers and microwave emitters can be used as a weapon. Their main plus lies in the extreme simplicity of aiming: the radiation does not deflect like a bullet and can "hit" at a greater distance. Thanks to this beam weapon, slightly simpler guidance systems are required, and in addition, it becomes possible to transfer more energy to targets than in the case of using traditional kinetic ammunition. But behind every plus is a minus. The main problem with all emitters that could be put into service is the power supply. A light or microwave emitter consumes so much energy that special generators have to be allocated for it. This is unlikely to please potential users. In addition, you can hide from any radiation. The notorious Faraday cage protects against radio waves, and laser protection systems have long been known - smoke screens and powerful searchlights of the corresponding radiation range. It turns out that the high costs of creating combat emitters can be "compensated" by the enemy using much cheaper methods. Therefore, there is still nothing to do with such equipment on the battlefield, as well as in the estimates for the purchase of weapons. But it is worth investing in the study of this direction, because the study of light or microwave radiation will also have non-military "dividends".
Geophysical weapons
Another wunderwaffe of our time. From time to time, there are reports of its development and even application. But in reality they all turn out to be rumors. Moreover, today there is no reliable information regarding even research in this area. On the one hand, it can be secrecy, and on the other, a banal lack of interest in an unpromising direction. However, a dictionary definition for geophysical weapons has been around for a long time. These are the means by which a person can influence inanimate nature in such a way that natural disasters will begin in the attacked territory. From this it is possible to deduce a kind of classification and divide geophysical weapons into lithospheric, hydrospheric, atmospheric and climatic weapons.
There is no evidence of the existence of systems that can affect the geophysical state of the planet and cause catastrophes, which, nevertheless, does not prevent some citizens from arguing the opposite. So, for example, it is often said that the American station for the study of the ionosphere HAARP (located in Alaska) is in fact a means of influencing the atmosphere and natural phenomena. This conspiracy theory also includes claims that the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the 2010 heat wave in Russia was due to the HAARP complex. Of course, there is no convincing evidence or refutation of this. Interestingly, rumors about the use of HAARP as a geophysical weapon are most widespread in the post-Soviet space. In turn, in the United States and Canada, similar things tell about the Russian complex "Sura", located in the Voronezh region.
Of course, theoretically, a person can arbitrarily influence the course of certain processes in the atmosphere or hydrosphere. In practice, this will require enormous energies, which humanity does not yet have. So, during the operation of the HAARP and Sura complexes, the northern lights can form in the sky. However, after the termination of radiation, it disappears rather quickly. For a long-term preservation of the effect, as well as for transferring the required amount of energy through the atmosphere, more powerful transmitters and generators of electricity are needed. The situation is similar with other subspecies of geophysical weapons.
There is, however, an alternative way to create geophysical (lithospheric or hydrospheric) weapons. It looks simple: a nuclear or thermonuclear charge of the corresponding power is installed at the desired point on the ocean floor or the Earth's crust. The installation point must be found in such a way that the detonation of the ammunition led to the appearance of a super-powerful tsunami or earthquake. Such projects have long excited the minds of scientists, military men and politicians. Still, one click on the button and the enemy has much more important problems than a war with your country. And the earthquake against the background of your confrontation will look like just an accident. Hotheads are stopped by the practical implementation of the idea. The search for nuclear charges is not a quick and difficult task, moreover, it is still not possible to accurately calculate the consequences and the effect of the detonation may not meet expectations and not recoup the project costs. Simply sprinkling enemy territory with atomic bombs will be much easier and cheaper.
Gene weapon
This category of "weapons of the future" does not imply an attack on the enemy itself, but on his genome. Most often, it is proposed to damage the enemy's gene code with the help of viruses or bacteria specially bred in the laboratory, which to some extent makes a genetic weapon akin to a biological one. The effect of gene weapons is that specially created nucleotide sequences are introduced into the genome of enemy soldiers or commanders, leading to the malfunctioning of the organism. In particular, in this way, in theory, it is possible to cause a serious violation of human health or even complete incapacitation.
Despite the apparent effectiveness, gene weapons are of little use against armies in real conditions. The main snag lies in how exactly the human body "works" with genetic information. For example, the immune system monitors the behavior of cells and tries to destroy those of them, whose genetic information is damaged. True, with a large number of damaged cells, the body will no longer cope with their destruction, as is the case with cancer. Another problem with gene weapons has to do with their speed. Even if artificially created information is successfully introduced into the human genome, it may not have an effect on his body and "emerge" only in the next generations. For military use, such means are not suitable, although they may be useful for long-term "clearing" of territories. A special case of such a variant of a gene weapon can be considered the so-called. ethnic gene weapon. It is no secret that representatives of different nationalities have differences in hereditary information, and this, with a certain approach, can make it possible to create pathogens that affect only carriers of certain elements of the genome. But even this version of the gene weapon is not fast-acting, and besides, because of the agents that carry the information being introduced (viruses or bacteria), it can be recognized as a kind of biological weapon, which has long been banned.
We often hear that the genetic modification of organisms used in the food industry was also created as a gene weapon. However, this version is quite easily refuted by elementary knowledge from the field of biology. For example, for human digestion, it makes no difference which nucleotide sequence is hidden in the nuclei of the cells of the eaten plant. Gastric juice will break down all food substances into a safe (provided food is cooked correctly) chemical "soup". Also, do not forget the fact that for the introduction of the altered DNA into the cell, special methods are used that cannot be reproduced in an ordinary kitchen, and even more so in the stomach and intestines. Thus, the only way to use GMOs in food that can claim the proud title of a weapon is to breed varieties of plants that produce toxins that are dangerous to humans. Only such plants fall under the Chemical and Toxin Weapons Convention. And it is unlikely that any country will admit an obviously dangerous product to its food market - at the moment, food with the use of GMOs is given so much attention that it will be very, very difficult, if not impossible, to introduce something dangerous.
Psychophysical weapons
The term "psychotropic weapon" is often used to denote this category, but in general both names are equally correct. The essence of such systems is simple: a certain apparatus, by means of some influence on the human brain, causes specially provoked reactions. It can be pleasure or euphoria, or it can be panic. Most often, psychophysical weapons feature in conspiracy theories and science fiction. As for the real world, research in this direction is being conducted, albeit without much success. Perhaps the reason for this lies in the need for non-contact exposure to humans. This version is supported by the fact that in the field of psychotropic substances there are much greater achievements than in the field of devices for influencing the psyche.
It is argued that psychotronic systems can destabilize the enemy's behavior and even control him. However, the notorious Helmholtz resonator still remains a mockery of conspiracy theorists. It should be noted that nowadays there are systems that can be called psychophysical weapons with great stretch. The fact is that the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) installation is still more physical than psycho-weapon. The essence of its action lies in the emission of highly directional sound at high volume. A person who has come under the direct influence of LRAD begins to experience painful sensations from the volume (physical impact), and those outside the directional beam are forced to endure a very unpleasant squeak (psychological impact). It is noteworthy that shortly after the first reports of LRAD, there were no countermeasures against this installation. Simple ear protectors significantly reduce the noise level, and a metal sheet of sufficient size is able to reflect sound waves and direct them to the installation operator.
Infrasonic radiators can be an alternative to LRAD. With a correctly selected signal frequency, they are capable of causing pain throughout the body or even panic in the adversary. Similar systems have also been developed in various countries, but nothing is known about the practical application, or at least about prototypes of ready-made military devices. Perhaps, potential customers preferred simpler and more familiar solutions to psychophysiological weapons.
Alternative kinetic weapons
Currently, the main means of throwing ammunition designed to hit a target with their own energy are various gunpowders. They have fundamental drawbacks: limited heat of combustion and energy release, as well as a requirement for a relatively strong barrel that can withstand the explosive energy release of gunpowder. Problems with the barrel have been solved for several decades by the use of recoilless guns, but in order to preserve the kinetic characteristics of the projectile ammunition, this requires a significant increase in the powder charge. It remains only to strengthen the barrels of weapons and guns. As a solution to the problem of increasing the energy of the propellant charge, the so-called. pneumo-electric ammunition. Instead of gunpowder, specially selected metal burns in them, ignited by an electric igniter. Combustion heats up an inert gas (also located inside the sleeve), and it expands and pushes out a bullet or projectile. Theoretically, this type of ammunition can significantly improve the performance of a firearm. But it has such poor practical prospects that today pneumo-electric cartridges do not even exist in the form of laboratory samples.
But other alternative methods of dispersing a bullet / projectile not only exist, but also actively shoot. Since the mid-nineties, work has been going on in the United States on railguns (the term "railgun" is also used). They don't need a barrel or gunpowder. The principle of operation of such a weapon is simple: a thrown metal object is placed on two rails. Electricity is supplied to them, under the influence of the Lorentz force that has arisen, the projectile is accelerated along the rails and flies out in the direction of the target. This design allows you to achieve much higher flight speeds and ranges than gunpowder. But still, it is not a panacea - a large amount of electricity is required to operate a rail gun, which makes it not a very good option for replacing firearms. Nevertheless, by the end of this decade, the Pentagon plans to conduct the first test firing from the railgun installed on the ship. As they say, wait and see.
An alternative to rail cannons is the Gauss Cannon. It also runs on electricity and has quite interesting indicators. The principle of its operation differs from the railgun: the projectile is accelerated by alternately turning on several solenoids located around the barrel. Under the influence of their magnetic field, the projectile accelerates and flies away at the target. Gauss cannons are also somewhat attractive to the military, but they have one serious drawback. At the moment, it has not been possible to create a sample of such an installation, the efficiency of which would exceed 8-10%. This means that less than a tenth of the energy of the batteries or generator is transferred to the projectile. Calling a device with such characteristics energy efficient simply does not dare.
Information weapon
Perhaps the simplest and most effective "weapon of the future" today. Information weapons can be divided into several categories depending on the nature of their use. Thus, computer weapons, namely special software (software), are designed to disrupt the operation of the enemy's computing systems, which in modern conditions will undoubtedly be an effective sabotage. These can be specially written viruses that are introduced through "holes" in the software used, or the so-called. bookmarks. In the latter case, the malware is initially in the target and is just waiting in the wings when it will be ordered to start work. It is obvious that injecting malware into enemy systems is not an easy task, but it will be worth it. For example, disabling or disrupting the communication and information processing systems of the air defense forces can make the country defenseless in the literal sense of the word. There have not yet been such major acts of sabotage as attacks on military systems, but several years ago Iranian targets were attacked. Then the Stuxnet virus drank a lot of blood to the system administrators of Iran. There is information that it was Stuxnet that caused delays in the uranium enrichment process.
From the concept of cyber attack, the requirements for defense in the computer sphere follow. At first glance, the most common antivirus program in this case becomes a real means of civil defense. Of course, more serious software is needed to protect strategic objects. In addition, to reduce the likelihood of attacks, the use of special assemblies of operating systems is required. The fact is that a virus written to be embedded in one version of the operating system may not work at all or malfunction in another. While this is not a serious problem for those who extort money with the help of Internet terrorists blocking programs (they, as they say, take in quantity), then for precise attacks on a particular computing center, specialized malware is required.
However, information weapons can be used not only against enemy computers. Good old propaganda can be recognized as such. It is already clear that this means of suggesting the necessary thoughts is not a bit outdated and is even gaining more and more weight. Widespread Internet access is believed to have been a major contributor to the propaganda.
A matter of choice
We do not know what types of "alternative weapons" will be developed by Russian science in the future. As you can see, all of the systems and methods listed above have both pros and cons. Some types of alternative weapons are in principle possible already in modern conditions, and some in the distant future will be pure fantasy. Despite the fact that the term "new physical principles" has long become a kind of scientific joke, one should not forget about really new technologies. However, there is one serious problem in the development of revolutionary new ideas: as soon as any direction becomes sufficiently widespread (for example, nanotechnology in recent years), there are immediately many suspicious characters who, perhaps, do not promise to get a star from the sky, just let them of money. It was like this before, it is so now and it will most likely be so in the future. Therefore, when creating and developing new technologies, special attention should be paid to the allocation of funds for research, so that they do not fall into pseudoscientific hands. And don't be led by sky-high promises. In this case, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to see fully autonomous tanks with artificial intelligence and a rail gun, soldiers in exoskeletons and with Gauss assault rifles, as well as planes invisible in all radiation spectra.
