Just Don’t Kill

In early 2019, Russian developers announced the creation of the “Filin” shipborne optical jamming system, capable of blinding electro-optical surveillance and targeting systems, disorienting the enemy, and even causing hallucinations. It was claimed that the system had no foreign analogs and, unlike Western counterparts, did not “burn out” the eyes. However, based on its description, the Russian system is a non-lethal weapon and is not truly innovative. The editorial team at N+1 decided to explore what types of non-lethal weapons exist worldwide and which of them are relatively unusual.

Not-So-Dangerous Weapons

As a distinct class, weapons designed to neutralize an enemy without killing or causing serious harm have appeared only recently. In the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Justice decided to prohibit police from using lethal weapons indiscriminately. An order was issued to expand non-lethal methods of influencing people.

Since then, the most common types of non-lethal weapons, aside from traditional police batons, have become water cannons, pepper spray, stun guns, special rubber bullet cartridges for smoothbore weapons, and flashbang grenades. Police and military forces in many countries successfully use these tools.

Currently, eight main types of non-lethal weapons can be identified:

• Traumatic (impact)
• Electroshock
• Optical
• Acoustic
• Microwave
• Water cannons
• Irritants
• Flashbang munitions

Some human rights advocates call for abandoning the term “non-lethal weapons” in favor of “less lethal weapons,” since any weapon, even if not intended to kill, can still cause death. For example, a rubber bullet can cause severe internal bleeding or heart rupture, and a stun gun can cause respiratory or cardiac arrest.

Although such cases are rare, the risk is not zero. In many countries, death from non-lethal weapons, when used lawfully by police or military, is considered an undesirable but acceptable outcome. For instance, in 1996, the Pentagon issued directive 3000:3, stating that any non-lethal weapon developed for the military “is not required to have a zero probability of death or irreversible harm.”

The UN considers some types of non-lethal weapons, such as acoustic weapons that use unbearably loud sounds or microwave weapons, as potentially violating the Geneva Conventions’ ban on torture. International rules suggest evaluating new types of non-lethal weapons for possible violations of the Geneva Conventions, but do not require it.

Traditional non-lethal weapons are not always effective. For example, pepper spray may not affect someone in a heightened emotional state, and some people are almost immune to stun guns.

Therefore, the development of new non-lethal systems that can reliably incapacitate an enemy for a time without causing significant harm continues. Most of this work is done in the U.S.; in Russia, law enforcement typically relies on traditional methods: traumatic pistols, rubber batons, and water cannons. The “Filin” system is an exception.

Strobe Spotlight

The new (or not so new) Russian “Filin” system is an optical non-lethal weapon. In an interview with the TV channel “Zvezda,” Vladimir Zharov, quality director at the Integral plant (the developer), said the system is intended to protect ships in coastal areas, transmit light signals, and serve as a powerful spotlight.

Technical details are not disclosed. Developers only noted that the system uses powerful light with modulated brightness to blind the enemy—in essence, a powerful strobe spotlight, which is not fundamentally new.

Human vision is persistent, meaning it has inertia that causes moving objects to appear blurred rather than sharp at each stage of movement. This persistence is why cinema works—objects in changing static images appear to move smoothly. However, if the world is illuminated unevenly, in flashes, this inertia can disorient a person, and those with neurological conditions like epilepsy can be completely incapacitated. The effects of bright light flashes have been known for a long time and have been used by police since the 1960s—today, many civilian and tactical flashlights have a strobe function.

LEDs and Lasers

In the mid-2000s, a bright LED flashlight was developed for the U.S. Border Patrol, police, and customs to temporarily incapacitate violators. The device, called the LED Incapacitator, was developed by IOS under an $800,000 contract from the Department of Homeland Security.

The device was a flashlight with a battery and a board with red, green, and blue LEDs, each with its own lens. The flashlight emitted flashes of red, green, and blue light at specific intervals. Tests showed it could temporarily blind or disorient most volunteers, though some were unaffected.

Deliveries of the LED Incapacitator were planned for 2010, but it’s unclear if they occurred. The new flashlight was intended to replace laser devices used to temporarily blind violators or enemy electro-optical systems. These devices, resembling weapon sights or pocket flashlights with green laser emitters, were actively used by U.S. forces in both Iraq wars to blind enemy shooters and disable drivers who ignored checkpoint orders.

“Pain Ray”

In the late 2000s, Raytheon developed the ADS (Active Denial System), a microwave non-lethal weapon, for the Pentagon. Known as the “pain ray,” it consisted of a microwave emitter and antenna mounted on a HMMWV armored vehicle chassis.

The system generated microwave radiation at 95 GHz, penetrating human skin up to 0.4 mm and rapidly heating tissue to 44°C (111°F)—enough to cause intense burning sensations without serious burns. The ADS was tested in Afghanistan but never used operationally and was withdrawn from service in 2010.

However, in 2015, Raytheon received a contract from U.S. Special Operations Command to develop an upgraded version—ADS II. The new system is to be more powerful and used on AC-130J Ghostrider gunships. The agreement called for development to be completed by the end of 2020, with the new system intended for dispersing large crowds.

Acoustic Cannon

In spring 2018, the Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate announced the development of a new acoustic weapon—a laser acoustic cannon.

The prototype uses femtosecond lasers, which generate laser pulses lasting only a few femtoseconds. Over 10–15 seconds, these pulses create a plasma ball, which is then targeted by a narrow-spectrum laser beam. The interaction produces a bright flash and a loud sound. By changing the laser frequency, the brightness and sound frequency can be adjusted.

Developers claim the system will eventually be able to generate the sound of a human voice. Thanks to lasers and mirrors, the new acoustic cannon could create a loud sound source—a plasma region affected by the laser—anywhere up to 30 kilometers from the installation. Details on how this will be achieved are not disclosed. The first working prototype is expected in 2021.

Plasma Explosion

In the late 2000s, Orbital ATK developed a Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP) emitter for U.S. Special Operations. The system was designed to use infrared laser pulses to create a plasma ball up to two kilometers away.

The weapon worked as follows: initial laser pulses created plasma, which then absorbed energy from subsequent pulses and exploded. The explosion produced a shockwave that could knock people down, a blinding flash, and a deafening sound. Additionally, the electromagnetic radiation from the explosion could disable enemy electronics.

Early tests showed that the electromagnetic pulses generated by PEP could affect animal nervous systems, causing unbearable pain. In 2007, under public pressure, the military announced the project’s closure. Some human rights advocates claimed PEP could be used for torture without leaving marks on the victim’s body.

In 2008, American scientists led by Brian Cooper, who worked on PEP, published a study showing that ultrashort (up to 12 nanoseconds) electromagnetic pulses can cause a cold burn sensation and other types of pain.

Overall, the above developments can be considered exotic. For the most part, law enforcement and military agencies rely on traditional tools: pepper spray, batons, and water cannons. There are several reasons for this: using these means against rioters usually does not provoke strong protests from human rights groups; batons and water cannons are simple and effective, require no advanced technology, and, most importantly, are inexpensive.