An ongoing federal investigation is working to determine whether directed-energy weapons were to blame for at least two possible attacks on U.S. soil, including one near the White House in November.
In late April, defense officials briefed the House Armed Service Committee about the "growing and urgent threat of directed-energy attacks" and said they are increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of U.S. troops in the Middle East and and South America.
What are DEWs and how do they work? What are the different types, and how harmful or lethal are they?
How serious is it if a DEW was used to target U.S. locations or troops? Why don't we know with certainty what actually happened? Why are officials having difficulties attributing these possible attacks?
What are the signs an energy weapon is being used? What are the counter measures?
Are DEWs legal? What about their use by law enforcement on civilians, such as for crowd control?
How could DEWs change modern warfare? Do we need new international agreements?
Guests:
- Andrew Desiderio, congressional reporter covering the Senate, national security and foreign policy for POLITICO
- Ian Williams, fellow in the International Security Program and deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies
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*This interview was recorded on Thursday, May 6.