According to CNN, Hegseth approved transfer of Active Denial system to DHS — The Guardian
According to The Guardian, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly signed a memorandum allowing the US Department of Homeland Security to test the Active Denial system for potential operations at the country’s southern border with Mexico. CNN, which first obtained the document, reported that the Pentagon will transfer the system to the agency for seven months, starting in September.
After this period ends, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to request further use of the system. At the same time, the agency’s specific plans for its use are unknown. A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection said that the service continuously evaluates new technologies, including those that can save lives while increasing national security effectiveness.
How Active Denial works
Active Denial is a military non-lethal system that media outlets call a “heat ray.” It creates an invisible 95-gigahertz beam that penetrates the skin by about 1/64 of an inch and causes a burning sensation. A 2009 study by the US National Defense University stated that such exposure causes an intense sensation of heat and a reflexive reaction; in particular, a person may duck or run.
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Pentagon officials compared the sensation to a wave of heat after opening a hot oven. According to CNN, it is temporary and lasts from 10 to 15 minutes. The system uses millimeter waves rather than infrared radiation.
Responsibility for use
According to the memorandum, the Department of Homeland Security will bear full responsibility for using Active Denial, as well as for developing tactics, techniques and procedures for its use. US Department of Defense personnel are not permitted to operate the system.
The US military previously delivered Active Denial to Afghanistan but quickly returned it to the United States without using it. US Border Patrol also considered using the system in areas with high numbers of illegal border crossings or to disperse crowds, but it was not deployed. In 2012, the US Marine Corps stated that the system complies with the United States’ international legal obligations.
