JOURNAL: Portable Herfing

Here's a good technical description of a functional HERF (high energy radio frequency) device from Eureka Aerospace that can shut down microprocessors in cars at a distance of 50 meters (from a pursuit vehicle or from the side of the road). This device is currently being developed for the LA Police department. I suspect with some modification of the antenna (the critical part for a HERF device), could be used for a wide variety of microprocessors. We are going to see lots of more of this device once it gets into the field.

Comments

[dryki]

Pacemakers, laptops, cooked livers, cell phones. A vehicle has a lot of steel and the microwave beam would have to penetrate that - requiring more power. Then there is the dead weight unpowered vehicle - perhaps with steering locked up - on a five lane highway. Why not a bazooka?

Points and distributor caps, motorcycles - those will be unaffected except for the cooked liver part. What was that war game where the Marine commander put his messengers on motorcycles and sank the carrier?

This will be much more effective against police cars than in a police car.

[NietzschesGhost]

"What was that war game where the Marine commander put his messengers on motorcycles and sank the carrier?"

You are probably thinking of the 2002 Millenium Challenge, and it was Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper.

[gmoke]

Portable HERFing leads to drive-by HERFing. Imagine taking out a whole Starbucks full of computers from across the street. Or a bank.

Or City Hall.

[TheDreamer]

what group is willing to sacrifice its digital capacity?

[Anton Vereshchagin]

I don't know if a group would be sacrificing it's digital capacity unless they used some sort of large scale HERF weapon. I believe most groups would use HERF weapons for pinpoint attacks to cause maximum effects.

[Cavolonero]

I'll HERF and I'll PERF and I'll ... cook you liver ( ? )

[P-]

Narly! Has the look of a highly simple and effective tool for Guerrillas to use to gain the initiative whilst launching a localized attack! I wonder how well state technologies for military vehicles(personnel carriers and tanks) are shielded against this sort of thing.

[pm2075]

"Design Noir." That's what it is called. A cell phone jammer that works for a radius of 20 ft. Seems and looks like a drop it into your pocket size & an off the shelf product. What and interesting story/variant idea this could weave for the role for a few ambitious mercenaries bent on creating chaos using simple tech strung together. The plotline thickens...

invest_mavin