The notion of acquiring new, enhanced non-lethal weapons, to provide deployed forces with greater options than through the use of lethal force, had its genesis in the 2009 Defence White Paper. And there it appears to have rested.
JP3011 Joint Non-Lethal Capability was stood up and entered the Defence Capability Plan for that year. According to the DCP the ADF current Joint Non-Lethal Capabilities (JNLC) is weapons-based, disparate in nature and limited in the variety of effects and the distance over which these effects can be generated.
Although the equipment management process had been rationalised, those other components of a comprehensive non-lethal capability, notably policy, guidance, training and education, have yet to be fully developed to support the in-service capabilities.
ADF operations have demonstrated limitations in the use of options that relied only on lethal force whereas a robust JNLC could expand the spectrum of response options available to commanders and soldiers, thus providing a flexible capability to meet mission requirements. By developing enhanced and modernised JNLC options, the ADF would be able to achieve more precise and discriminate effects and employ a broader range of response options.
Still current, JP3011’s first phase is aimed at updating the current non-lethal capabilities of the ADF across all three Services, making them more relevant to the threats faced now and in the future. This phase aims to replace current non-lethal weapons and provide some enhanced non-lethal capabilities.
However this project, among others was deferred and in the May 2012 Defence Budget the present Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert, waxed somewhat lyrical over defence cuts at the time, including with reference to the JNLC project.
“JP 3011 phase 1, non-lethal weapons, enhancing the ADF's non-lethal capability, is being deferred,” he said. “The next time these clowns on the government benches complain because kinetic force has been used on future operations, the next time the raving Left in this country and its supporters in the Labor Party and the Greens complain about the use of lethal force, let me remind them that the government they supported, voted for and, in the case of the Greens, formed coalition with, forced Army to defer JP 3011 phase 1, non-lethal weapons enhancing our non-lethal capability.
“There is a price you pay for this type of fiscal irresponsibility. The problem is that the Labor Party is not going to pay the price, except perhaps at the ballot box.”
NK/NLW capabilities
NATO defines Non Kinetic/Non Lethal Weapons as weapons which are explicitly designed and developed to incapacitate or repel personnel, with a low probability of fatality or permanent injury, or to disable equipment, with minimal undesired damage or impact on the environment. So what are the non-kinetic/non-lethal weapons currently in the ADF inventory?
While Defence does not broadcast their non-lethal capabilities it seems these include rubber bullets (baton rounds), stun grenades/flashbangs, green laser dazzlers and tasers. CS gas (teargas) and OC (capsicum) sprays will also have found their way into the ADF inventory from the police services.
The M84 flashbang or stun grenade is the currently issued stun grenade for the ADF and police forces. Upon detonation, it emits an intensely loud "bang" and a blinding flash of more than one million candela and 170–180 decibels within five feet of initiation, sufficient to cause immediate (but temporary) flash blindness, deafness, tinnitus, and inner ear disturbance.
In ADF service, the 200 milliwatt GLARE Enforcer enlarges the green laser beam more than a conventional laser pointer, in order to create a “cone” of light that can encompass a number of persons in a vehicle or on foot. It is visible as a warning device up to 1.25 miles away, and can produce disruptive dazzle up to 1600 feet away.
The Glare green laser dazzler has been widely used in Afghanistan for such occasions as preventing potential hazard vehicles from getting close to military convoys and as no go warning at checkpoints and watchtowers. It provides soldiers with a non-lethal option before having to use lethal force to maintain convoy or route safety. It effectively replaces the ‘shout’ in the shout before shoot.
Other laser systems in the ADF inventory include the Z-Bolt-EOD tactical green laser series. Perhaps more tool than weapon, Z-Bolt hand held or mounted tactical green lasers have evolved from target marking to wide spread use improving communication, command, and control through precise visual and non-verbal signalling. Z-Bolt lasers include green, infrared and red, dots and line effects. The C-Trip Laser Line Generator (Trip Wire Illuminator) is a new, effective, and improved tool to aid in the detection and defeat of trip wires.
BAE Systems has developed a non-lethal laser for anti-piracy use. The laser beam is capable of providing a visual warning to pirates at distances greater than 2km, and of disorientating attackers sufficiently at lesser distances so that weapons cannot be targeted effectively. At all times the power levels of the laser remain eye safe. Both stun grenade and laser dazzle systems are under upgrade development in the US and may qualify for future inclusion in the ADF inventory.
We understand the US military has adopted the commercial X26 Taser as the currently deployed Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) device of choice and is type classified by the US Army. Taser technology is rapidly growing as an effective scalable force option for military interventions and application and multiple units in one commercial application, the Taser Shockwave, may well find favour in perimeter control, somewhat akin to the Claymore mine.
An earlier industry briefing described a broad catch-all group of the technical classes that were under consideration, including acoustic, chemical, electrical, electromagnetic, kinetic and mechanical, of which no doubt many have already been reviewed by DSTO, which has a small research effort applied to NLW and indeed has sought NLW proposals under its CTD program, but with little effect so far.
Earlier studies the viability of non-lethal weapons for use by the RAAF found that directed energy weapons, both anti-materiel and anti-personnel, held considerable promise, not least because of their capacity to be integrated into the air battle. They were seen as well suited to future conflict scenarios and able to satisfy the political–strategic limitations within which the ADF response must be conducted.
However the same report found that while chemical weapons provide a solution to the complexities of future conflict scenarios, strategic-political factors present considerable hurdles, particularly the emotive response that chemical weapons inevitably induce. Further, legal factors present a significant obstacle to the legitimate development and use of chemical weapons, notwithstanding their non-lethal nature.
NK/NLW examples
So what do we know about non-lethal weapons? Both NATO and the US Defense Department list their current and proposed non-lethal weapons, and both are doing a great deal to encourage the use of NLW by militaries and police in developing countries.
With FMS purchases one possibility for the acquisition of updated or new NLW systems US developments in this field will be of interest. According to the US DOD’s Joint Non Lethal Weapons (JNLW) program, currently available non-lethal capabilities range from non-lethal munitions and acoustic devices to non-lethal optical distractors and vehicle stopping devices. Non-lethal weapons are multi-capable, with the ability to strike single or multiple targets
Examples include 40mm Munitions, which are M203 grenade launched rounds that deliver blunt trauma effects to individuals. Different types of 40mm munitions are available such as sponge rounds, foam rubber baton rounds, and crowd dispersal cartridges. Other grenades are capable of delivering smoke, flash bang effects, and riot-control munitions.
Acoustic Hailing Devices are designed to deny access into/out of an area to individuals, move individuals through an area, and suppress individuals. The devices provide scalable, directional warning tones or intelligible voice commands beyond 500 metres. They can be vehicle, vessel and ground mounted.
The Enhanced Underwater Loudhailer is designed to deny access into/out of an area and suppress underwater swimmers and divers. The unit transmits intelligible commands capable of auditory impairment up to two hours with a battery source, to a distance of 457 meters and depth of 40 metres.
The FN-303is a compressed-air powered launcher designed to fire non-lethal projectiles such as blunt impact, dye marking and Oleoresin Capsicum liquid. It has been adapted for paintball contests.
The Green Laser Interdiction System is a rifle-mounted/hand-held laser that allows interdiction of potential hostile actions through non-lethal effects and is interchangeable between host weapon platforms. Effective non-lethal means to inform civilians they are approaching military operations with visible effects from zero to 300m.
Emerging technologies
Non lethal weapons under development by the US JNLW program which may be applicable to ADF requirements include:
The 40mm Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation Projectile, designed to disable individuals. The projectile is a 40mm grenade-type round with increased distance and duration of effect over currently available tethered (taser) devices.
Another is the Distributed Sound and Light Array, which uses a combined laser, non-coherent light, and acoustics to produce a synergistic engagement system. The system is capable of optical and auditory impairment and/or intelligible audible tones.
The Ocular Interruption system is a light emitting, non-damaging, eye-safe device to warn (primary) and suppress (secondary) individuals at a 10-500 metre standoff. This device will be a visible laser or high powered broad band lamp designed to maximise range while minimizing nominal ocular hazard distance.
Active Denial Technology, presumably millimetre-wave based, is a non-lethal, counter-personnel capability that creates a heating sensation, quickly repelling potential adversaries with minimal risk of injury.
NATO has also listed emerging technologies with the potential for NLW applications. Examples are: Anti-Materiel Weapons utilising high power microwave pulses or non-nuclear EMP to disable electronic equipment by jamming or burning out sensitive components. Such weapons could be employed, for example, to disrupt the electrical system of engines, disable communication or radar systems, or damage computing equipment. Other technologies under consideration include:
Infrared Energy: electromagnetic radiation in the 1 to 100 micron wavelength range, with a majority of the devices using such energy operating between 1 and 10 microns.
Laser Ionisers: postulated technology that would use laser energy to ionise the air molecules along a path, thereby enabling transmission of electromagnetic or electrical energy at long distances without conventional antennas or wires.
Laser Light Bullets: an emerging technology that purportedly produces a long bright pulse of focused laser light in a variety of colours. It is produced by rounds containing a tuned resonator chamber surrounding a lasing medium that is energised by the explosive charge.
Laser Scattering Obscuration: visual obscuration or glare caused by aiming lasers at windows, vision ports, automobile windshields, or airplane canopies. Micro-abrasions in the glass scatter the light in such a way that visibility is greatly impaired.
Pulsed-Energy Projectile (PEP): A pulsed laser technology concept intended to produce a large flash, bang, and shock wave to temporarily disorient and incapacitate individuals.
Ultraviolet Energy: Electromagnetic energy typically of wavelengths ranging from about 1 nm to 400 nm.
Visible Light: Electromagnetic energy typically in the 400 – 700 nm wavelength range, which is detectable by the human eye. Such light is focused onto the retina by the lens of the eye, generally making it more potentially hazardous to vision than light at higher or lower wavelengths.
Visible Light Strobes: Visible lights that flash at a frequency near that of the human brain electrical waves (7 – 9 Hz). Such stimulation could possibly cause vertigo, disorientation, seizures, and vomiting in sensitive individuals. However, such effects are poorly documented and their potential utility for non-lethal applications has not been evaluated.
Electrical Stimulation: Devices that produce and deliver a non-lethal electrical shock to a target, resulting in pain, involuntary muscle contraction, and incapacitation, depending on the device and its application. The shock can be produced by pulsed or direct electric current, affecting the target muscle signal paths and disturbing the body’s nervous system.
Electrical Water Stream: A proposed mobile unit that projects a water stream charged with high voltage, low amperage.
Net Mines: Emerging technologies which would use a target-activated mine to deploy a net that would deliver an electrical stimulation.
Wireless Taser: Postulated devices for delivering electrical energy to a target at a distance without a wire. There are many ideas but little success. One concept would deliver a shocking projectile that includes a source of stored electricity (e.g., a capacitor) and barbs that catch onto the target and discharge upon impact. Another proposal is to use an aerosol charge to produce a gas-dispersed conducting channel, down which an electrical shock could be delivered to the target.
1Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013, Appropriation Bill - Parliament of Australia
2SQLDR C.R.Coles: Air-delivered non-lethal weapons and the RAAF weapons inventory. Geddes Papers 2003.
3Gordon Corrigan: Mud, Blood and Poppycock. Cassell, Orion Books Ltd, London 2004