Microwave weapon

2024: World's first Stirling engine-based microwave weapon created in China

In early February 2024, it became known that Chinese researchers from the Northwestern Institute of Nuclear Technology and the Institute of Electrical Engineering at the PRC Academy of Sciences developed the world's first microwave weapon based on Stirling engines. The system is said to be capable of hitting drones, military aircraft and even satellites.

A plant that can be mounted on the basis of a conventional truck, compared to alternative complexes, consumes only one-fifth of the electricity required to generate a strong magnetic field. In this case, the continuous operation time reaches 4 hours.

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China State Shipbuilding Corporation

A key feature of the weapon is the mentioned Stirling engine. This is a heat machine in which the working medium in the form of a gas or liquid moves in a closed volume. Such a unit is capable of operating from any heat source. Developed in China, the microwave gun is powered by four compact Stirling engines that not only generate electricity but also remove heat from the superconducting coil. The problem is that the cooling capabilities of the Stirling engine are limited to about 40 degrees above absolute zero. To use the unit with a superconducting coil, the researchers used the high-temperature superconducting material REBCO in its design, which reaches zero resistance at a temperature of 40-50 degrees above absolute zero.

In the created installation, an electromagnetic field with a intensity of up to 4 tesla is formed, which is 68 thousand times more than the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field and only about two times less than in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The operation of the system is not affected by strong vibration - even when the truck moves along the highway at high speed: this means that it will be much more difficult for the enemy to neutralize such a gun.^[1]

2023: U.S. Army awarded $66 million contract to develop microwave weapon to burn drones

At the end of January 2023, the US Army will begin developing and integrating powerful microwave devices to combat small drones. Epirus won a $66 million contract for the development of microwave weapons for burning drones. Read more here.

2018: U.S. Army buys microwave guns to combat drones

In August 2018, it became known about the purchase of microwave weapons by the US Army to combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Lockheed Martin will supply this equipment. Read more here.

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