Directed Energy Weapons Acronyms & Glossary

Directed Energy Weapons
Acronyms and Glossary*

ABL -- Airborne Laser
COIL -- Chemical Oxygen Iodine Lasers
CPB -- Charged Particle Beam
DEW -- Directed Energy Weapons
DEW-V -- Directed Energy Warfare - Vehicle
EMI -- Electromagnetic Interference
EMP -- Electromagnetic Pulse
FEL -- Free Electron Laser
GARDIAN -- General Area Defense Integration Antimissile System
HEL --High Energy Laser
HIRF -- High-Intensity Radio Frequency
HPM -- High Power Microwave
HPRF -- High Power Radio Frequency
LCMS -- Laser Countermeasure System
LLDR -- Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder
MIRACL -- Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser
MODS -- Mobile Ordnance Disrupter System
NLW -- Non-lethal Weapons
NNEMP -- Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse
SBL -- Space-Based Laser
THEL -- Tactical High-Energy Laser

DTIC Thesaurus: High energy lasers, such as continuous wave, repetitively pulsed, and single pulse, for tactical and strategic applications; Charged and neutral particle beam weapons. Includes energy generators, beam handling and control, target effects and countermeasures.

Directed Energy [DE]: (DOD) An umbrella term covering technologies that relate to the production of a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles. [1]

Directed Energy Device: (DOD) A system using directed energy primarily for a purpose other than as a weapon. Directed-energy devices may produce effects that could allow the device to be used as a weapon against certain threats, for example, laser rangefinders and designators used against sensors that are sensitive to light. [1]

Directed-Energy Protective Measures: (DOD) That division of directed-energy warfare involving actions taken to protect friendly equipment, facilities, and personnel to ensure friendly effective uses of the electromagnetic spectrum that are threatened by hostile directed-energy weapons and devices. [1]

Directed-Energy Warfare: (DOD) Military action involving the use of directed-energy weapons, devices, and countermeasures to either cause direct damage or destruction of enemy equipment, facilities and personnel, or to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum through damage, destruction, and disruption. It also includes actions taken to protect friendly equipment, facilities, and personnel and retain friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also called DEW. [1]

Directed-Energy Weapon [DEW]: (DOD) A system using directed energy primarily as a direct means to damage or destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and personnel. [1]

Electromagnetic Interference [EMI]: (DOD) Any electromagnetic disturbance that interrupts, obstructs, or otherwise degrades or limits the effective performance of electronics/electrical equipment. It can be induced intentionally, as in some forms of electronic warfare, or unintentionally, as a result of spurious emissions and responses, intermodulation products, and the like. [1]

Electromagnetic Pulse [EMP]: (DOD) The electromagnetic radiation from a nuclear explosion caused by Compton-recoil electrons and photoelectrons from photons scattered in the materials of the nuclear device or in a surrounding medium. The resulting electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges. May also be caused by nonnuclear means. [1]

Free Electron Lasers [FEL]: High-energy lasers in which the relativistic electron beam energy is converted into optical energy. [2]

High Power Microwave [HPM] Weapons: Energy generated by a conventional electromagnetic apparatus, such as a radar transmitter, or released from a conventional explosion converted into a ratio-frequency weapon which causes the disruption of electronic systems. Usually an ultra-wide ban source focus due to target vulnerability considerations. HPMs can also cause human unconsciousness without permanent maiming by upsetting the neural pathways in the brain and/or death. [3]

Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse [NNEMP] Weapons: Non-nuclear EMP generating weapons mounted on cruise missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which would disable enemy tanks and early warning radars would be invaluable. Such weapons when they explode would produce a momentary blast of microwaves powerful enough to disable all but special, radiation-hardened electronic devices. [3]

Particle Beam Weapons [PBW]: Nonnuclear weapons using a stream of high velocity particles or atomic or subatomic particles, excluding simulators for nuclear weapons-provided effects. [2]

Radio Frequency [RF] Weapons: A class of weapons which transmit short, high-powered pulses of electromagnetic radiation over significant ranges. [3]

Thermal Gun: A device that directs energy to produce heat, in concept similar to a microwave oven. [3]

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