U.S. Air Force has deployed missiles that can be used to prevent North Korea or Iran from launching missiles. Dubbed CHAMP (Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project), these missiles can zap enemy electronics using super powerful microwaves, rendering their weapons virtually useless without any casualty.
Built by Boeing’s Phantom Works, these missiles are fitted into cruise missile and then delivered by B-52 bombers. These missiles have a range of 700 miles; can be launched into enemy airspace at low altitude. Missiles emit sharp pulses of high power microwave energy (HPM), that are capable of destroying computer chips and any electronic chips that have been targeted by the missiles.
Mary Lou Robinson, who leads development of CHAMP at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, said, “These high-powered microwave signals are very effective at disrupting and possibly disabling electronic circuits,”
Basically the missiles produces concentrated beam of energy with the help of electromagnetic pulse cannon. Cannon makes use of a super-powerful microwave oven for generating this energy. Energy so produced causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, making them useless before surge protectors have the chance to react.
