PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 17, 2008
Active Denial System demonstrates capabilities at CENTCOM
By None , U.S. Central Command

MAC DILL AFB, FL — CENTCOM Deputy Commander Major General John Allen and other senior officials received an in-depth briefing on the non-lethal Active Denial System (ADS) Aug. 7 at CENTCOM Headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Fla.

Some CENTCOM personnel also had the chance to experience the effects of the ADS first-hand. The CENTCOM Joint Security Office hosted the ADS event, which included a briefing and a live-fire demonstration. The event was part of the continuing effort to educate military leadership on the capabilities of Active Denial Technology. Sponsored by the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD), based at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, the ADS is a new non-lethal, directed-energy, extended-range, counter-personnel weapon to help troops fill the gap between shouting and shooting. The ADS projects a focused beam of millimeter waves to induce an intolerable heating sensation on an adversary’s skin, repelling the individual with minimal risk of injury. Active Denial Technology has the potential to provide a tremendous new capability for U.S. forces in support of today’s complex missions.

At CENTCOM, representatives from the JNLWD, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s office briefed General Allen and other senior officials on the ADS. The briefing included information on ADS technology, human effects testing, legal and treaty reviews and operational assessments. After the briefing, CENTCOM personnel participated in an outdoor live-fire demonstration of ADS System 2. Managed by the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, System 2 is the containerized, transportable version of the ADS. Members of the 820th Security Forces Group, based at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, operated System 2 for the demonstration. The demonstration illustrated how the ADS provides a universal effect on a target, regardless of age, gender or size. It also showed that the ADS can affect only one individual in a group of people standing at arm’s length apart. ADS System 2 recently demonstrated its operational suitability during a series of rigorous assessments at Twentynine Palms, California, in April 2008. The next step for System 2 is a possible operational deployment in support of validated CENTCOM requirements. Meanwhile, research efforts continue to advance the state of the art of this transformational technology. For more information on the Active Denial System, visit https://www.jnlwp.com/activedenialsystem.asp.