Pentagon Approves Controversial Heat Ray Testing for Possible Border Use
The Pentagon has approved the testing of a controversial tool designed to deter border crossings. Here is a look at the tool, how it works, and why the nation's defense agency continues to draw criticism.
Pentagon Approves New Controversial Heat Ray Tool for Use at the Border
Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved the testing of a new heat ray technology for use at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The memo approving the technology was signed by Hegseth in September; however, it was more recently that the information was reported by the media.
According to the reporting from CNN, the Pentagon granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to begin testing the heat ray known as the "Active Denial System (ADS)."
This military-grade heat weapon is a nonlethal tool that emits an invisible beam of electromagnetic waves as far as half a mile away. According to the U.S. military, the waves hit the human body and agitate the water molecules in the skin's epidermis, bringing temperatures to about 130 degrees. Although the wave does not actually burn the skin, the feeling is akin to a hot light bulb pressing against the body. The heat tool can penetrate thick clothing, but it cannot go through walls.
Although the military has not confirmed the use of this tool, past comments about the tool provide more details about the technology. According to an Air Force Research Laboratory spokesman who was a test subject in 2008, “For the first millisecond, it just felt like the skin was warming up. Then it got warmer and warmer, and you felt like it was on fire. As soon as you’re away from that beam, your skin returns to normal and there is no pain.”
The ADS was first sent to Afghanistan in 2010. However, the tool was withdrawn before it was used on the combat field. CNN reported that government officials had considered sending the tool to several U.S. cities during the protests that unfolded after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
There have also been reports that border patrol officials considered using ADS against migrants in 2018 during the first Donald Trump administration. However, that idea was nixed by then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. A former DHS official told CNN that “The issue was treating immigrants and citizens like enemy combatants. Thematically, inhumane treatments typically get rejected.”
A similar but smaller version of the system was developed by defense contractor Raytheon, known as the "Silent Guardian." This system was installed in the ceiling of the Pitchess Detention Center in 2014 by the Los Angeles County Jail system. Authorities with this organization refer to the tool as an Assault Intervention Device.
Hegseth's memo effectively approved the use of one ADS system for seven months beginning in September. The parameters of the "temporary loan" detail that DHS is responsible for “system employment, use and development of tactics, techniques and procedures.”
A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CNN that “CBP is continually evaluating new technologies, especially those that enhance operational effectiveness and strengthen mission capabilities." Despite the defense of the system on that end, a former CBP official told CNN that they were worried about the legal and safety ramifications of ADS in a border control setting. The source said, “Even if they’re chasing people back to the river, you don’t want them to go in and drown. For the cost, for the training and for the policies you’re going to create, is the juice worth the squeeze?”
Hegseth Continues to Draw Criticism
The news of the deployment of ADS to the border is yet another reason for Hegseth's critics to speak out against how he is running the DOD. Hegseth raised eyebrows during his "State of the Force" address to 600 officers and service members on September 30 at Marine Corps Base Quantico. During the address, the leader of the DOD said that the agency was going to cut 20% of its top military officers.
Hegseth did not mince words when he said, “It’s worth saying again, so the fake news understands it: We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: no fatties, no t-------, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors.”
More recently, Hegseth announced on October 7 that the DOD would livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan so that the public could watch the event. Hegseth told podcaster Jack Posobiec that “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things."
The decision to livestream the execution drew criticism on both sides of the political aisle. President Trump caved to the pressure of this criticism and announced on October 15 that he was cancelling the plans to livestream the killing.
In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote, “I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device." Trump went on to confirm that, “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed. That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!”
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