by Gary Vey for Viewzone

EMP -- If it ever happens, you may regret surviving it.

When I first sat down to research this story, I thought that America had no real enemy capable of using an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon. It seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. Sure, I know that the Sun can cause this type of energy burst, but could a nation develop such a horrific weapon? Wow, was I naive.

This story has even more relevance after the successful detonation of a miniaturized nuclear bomb on Ferbuary 2013 and the subsequent upgrade to an H-Bomb in 2015... and now (2016) news that North Korea has put a satellite into orbit over continental USA.

Currently, North Korea has the capability to launching a ballistic missile high into the atmosphere and into space orbit, but no worries... officials say they have not yet developed a re-entry capability. Well guess what? For an EMP weapon it does not need to re-enter the atmosphere. More troubling is that all of our defensive systems are designed to target a potential warhead as it re-enters. As you will see, this is a recipe for disaster.

A weaponized EMP (bomb) is made to detonate high in the atmosphere. I'm talking hundreds of miles up there. It's possible to use an ordinary nuclear bomb for this. It's very low tech. The explosion releases certain energies that spread out and radiate a large area underneath it. The higher up it happens, the more the radiation can extend beyond the curve of the horizon. The effects, while not radioactive per se, are even more lethal.

The electromagnetic pulse contains enough energy to destroy anything and everything electronic. Think of it like a powerful lightening bolt. And when I say destroyed, I mean burned out and not repairable. But even if your cellphone, radio or computer was still somehow working, there would be no electrical power in the grid -- for a long time. All of the transformers would have to be replaced and new wiring installed. And, of course, the generators themselves would need to be rebuilt. Our cars, trucks and entire infrastructure would be gone -- in an instant.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon is far more dangerous and potentially more lethal than a nuclear bomb. We known that the Russians have EMP weapons because of their published (an sometimes not) research and experiments with the technology. And now, of course, we can include China. But really, any nuclear capable nation with an atmospheric delivery system can do this.

"China's military is developing electromagnetic pulse weapons that Beijing plans to use against U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over Taiwan, according to an intelligence report made public on Thursday.

Portions of a National Ground Intelligence Centerstudy on the lethal effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons revealed that the arms are part of China's so-called "assassin's mace" arsenal -- weapons that allow a technologically inferior China to defeat U.S. military forces." --Washington Post 7/22/11

A declassified intelligence report, obtained by the private National Security Archive, provides details on China's EMP weapons and plans for their use. Annual Pentagon reports on China's military in the past made only passing references to the arms.

"For use against Taiwan, China could detonate at a much lower altitude (30 to 40 kilometers) ... to confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland."

And, it goes without saying that countries, specifically the USA and Israel, have invested in this technology. But the real icing on the cake is North Korea:

"North Korea's last round of tests, conducted in May 2009, appear to have included a "super-EMP" weapon, capable of emitting enough gamma rays to disable the electric power grid across most of the lower 48 states, says Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, a former CIA nuclear weapons analyst and president of EMPact America, a citizens lobbying group.

Samore, who handles arms control and non-proliferation issues, warned that "additional strong sanctions will be imposed on the North with the support of Russia and China."

North Korea's nuclear tests have been dismissed as failures by some analysts because of their low explosive yield. But Dr. Pry believes they bore the "signature" of the Russian-designed "super-EMP" weapon, capable of emitting more gamma radiation than a 25-megaton nuclear weapon.

Pry believes the U.S. intelligence community was expecting North Korea to test a first generation implosion device with an explosive yield of 10 to 20 kilotons, similar to the bomb the U.S. exploded over Nagasaki in 1945. He said, "So when they saw one that put off just three kilotons, they said it failed. That is so implausible."

The technology for producing a first generation implosion weapon has been around since 1945, and is thoroughly described in open source literature.

South Korean defense minister, Kim Kwan-jin, told his country's parliament on Monday that North Korea had succeeded in miniaturizing its nuclear weapons design, allowing them to place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile."

In December 2012 Pyongyang announced plans to launch another rocket in a fresh attempt to send a "satellite" into orbit.

Just two days after announcing that the launch window would be extended due to technical issues, a long-range rocket lifted off from a launch site on the west coast of North Korea. Amid a chorus of international criticism, Pyongyang declared the mission a success and says a "satellite" was sent into orbit. Theoretically. an orbiting EMP bomb in the form of a simple, low yield nuclear weapon, would certainly be a game changer.

I want to emphasize this: Unlike nuclear bombs that can destroy a large city like New York or Los Angeles, an EMP weapon is so effective that just one -- detonated over the central USA -- could knock out the entire mainland. That's right -- just one! Everything electronic would be gone. Think about it.

More:

http://www.viewzone.com/emp.html

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Or maybe this:

CONVENTIONAL ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE WARHEADS

More:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070203101426/http://www.deepspace4.com/pages/science/emp/empwarheads.htm

IZAKOVIC