China's new microwave weapon challenges US tech dominance
A new energy weapon has emerged in Beijing's arsenal. HPM (High-power microwave), which uses microwaves, can affect electronics on a large scale, such as in drones, disrupting their operations without causing visible damage.
The Chinese solution is based on Stirling engines, which allow for the efficient conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy, potentially generating electromagnetic pulses similar to those produced by atomic bomb explosions. The efficiency of this solution reaches – according to Chinese sources – 96.6 percent.
This weapon was developed by a team from the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, and it can target not only drones but also military aircraft and satellites.
HPM also allows for precise energy focusing and adjustment of the effective range. The pulse it emits is similar to those accompanying nuclear explosions.
Energy weapon as a means to counter US superiority
According to China, work on microwave weapons is part of a broader strategy aimed at counteracting American dominance in the Pacific. One method to achieve this goal could be attempting to disable satellite communications.
With this objective in mind, the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is working on a space fleet of 99 satellites, which aims to precisely locate Starlink satellites.
According to the Chinese sources, they already possess solutions that will allow them to neutralize up to 1,200 satellites in the Starlink constellation within 12 hours. Insights from whale communication research have been instrumental in this development.
Information about the new Chinese weapon also corroborates the initial, imprecise reports on the topic that surfaced in global media in 2022. The work was reported by Asia Times, indicating that it is a response to Starlink's activities, as it consistently expands its constellation of thousands of satellites.
