The concept, which reminds of the Star Wars’ Death Star, uses high-power microwave energy.

Chinese scientists have developed a new high-power microwave weapon capable of directing converged energy beams at a single target, a breakthrough previously considered hard to achieve but already used by Beijing’s primary military foe.

The system uses multiple microwave-transmitting vehicles positioned at different locations. These vehicles emit electromagnetic waves that merge into a powerful, focused energy beam to attack a target, says a report in the South China Morning Post.

This concept is reminiscent of the Death Star from George Lucas’ SF series Star Wars, which combines multiple laser beams into one to unleash massive destructive power.

More to read:
[video] UK to deploy laser cannon for Royal Navy by 2027

Achieving this level of precision posed significant challenges.

For effective power convergence, electromagnetic waves from various transmitters must arrive at the target simultaneously and in perfect synchronization. This requires positional errors of transmitting vehicles to be limited to just a few millimeters and time synchronization errors to stay within 170 picoseconds (trillionths of a second)—a level of precision surpassing that of atomic clocks used in GPS systems.

Chinese researchers reportedly overcame these hurdles by linking timing devices on the transmitters with optical fibers to achieve ultra-precise synchronization. The system, which includes seven transmitting vehicles, has undergone successful trials in western China.

According to Chinese researchers, it can effectively disrupt GPS signals and other satellite communications, demonstrating its potential for military applications, technology testing, and training exercises.

More to read:
Chinese scientists hacked military-grade encryption with quantum computer

China, however, is not alone in the pursuit for energy weapons. The United States has also explored similar technologies. The U.S. Air Force, for example, has developed the Tactical High-Power Operational Responder (THOR) and the U.S. Army uses the Palletized High Energy Laser system (P-Hel), high-power microwave directed energy weapons designed to counter drones.

The United Kingdom too is developing weapons of this kind, aiming to deploy a laser cannon for Royal Navy by 2027. 

However, the practicality of these systems as fully operational weapons remains uncertain. For now, militaries are focusing on directed energy weapons primarily as tools to disrupt electronics and disable communication signals, providing a strategic advantage on the battlefield.

***
NewsCafe is an independent outlet that cares about big issues.Our sources of income amount to ads and donations from readers. You can support us via PayPal: office[at]rudeana.com or paypal.me/newscafeeu. We promise to reward this gesture with more captivating and important topics.