Russia propaganda report claims it can stop US Navy with ‘electronic bomb’

[NightHawkeye]

From the "No worries for our side", files: Russia claims it can wipe out entire US Navy with a single ‘electronic bomb’ in bizarre propaganda report: Russian news report claims electronic signal jamming weapon can render planes, ships and missiles useless

A news report from the country – where the media is essentially controlled by the state – said the technology could render planes, ships and missiles useless.
...
The reporter adds: “You don’t need to have expensive weapons to win – powerful radio-electronic jamming is enough.”​

 

[wing2000]

Let them try it and see what happens....

 

[RC1970]

It's like Tokyo Rose back during WWII. "Give up, you can't win." followed by some diabolical laughter.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

It seem like every one is afraid the USA is going to start trouble. SInce Trump got elected. So they have to make sure the USA. Knows they are ready for us.

 

[Goonie]

From the "No worries for our side", files: Russia claims it can wipe out entire US Navy with a single ‘electronic bomb’ in bizarre propaganda report: Russian news report claims electronic signal jamming weapon can render planes, ships and missiles useless

A news report from the country – where the media is essentially controlled by the state – said the technology could render planes, ships and missiles useless.
...
The reporter adds: “You don’t need to have expensive weapons to win – powerful radio-electronic jamming is enough.”​

My tv suddenly turned off! It's started!

Oh wait a minute sat on the remote...

 

[Aldebaran]

From the "No worries for our side", files: Russia claims it can wipe out entire US Navy with a single ‘electronic bomb’ in bizarre propaganda report: Russian news report claims electronic signal jamming weapon can render planes, ships and missiles useless

A news report from the country – where the media is essentially controlled by the state – said the technology could render planes, ships and missiles useless.
...
The reporter adds: “You don’t need to have expensive weapons to win – powerful radio-electronic jamming is enough.”​

If what they're referring to is an EMP bomb, then they'd be correct.

 

[NightHawkeye]

If what they're referring to is an EMP bomb, then they'd be correct.

For civilian facilities the threat of NEMP is real. For military equipment, less so.

Just to put this into perspective, commercial aircraft are designed to be undamaged by lightning strikes. Such strikes, being direct, are much much higher energy than NEMP which is indirect. Commercial airliners are struck all the time by lightning. I was on one such flight about 25 years ago myself.

EMP can be employed as a weapon but it does have limitations, perhaps the most important of those being that the dangers have been known, studied and preventative measures designed into sensitive equipment for decades now.

 

[Aldebaran]

For civilian facilities the threat of NEMP is real. For military equipment, less so.

Just to put this into perspective, commercial aircraft are designed to be undamaged by lightning strikes. Such strikes, being direct, are much much higher energy than NEMP which is indirect. Commercial airliners are struck all the time by lightning. I was on one such flight about 25 years ago myself.

EMP can be employed as a weapon but it does have limitations, perhaps the most important of those being that the dangers have been known, studied and preventative measures designed into sensitive equipment for decades now.

I sure hope this is true of military ships and aircraft. It certainly isn't for the power grid the rest of us depend on. It looks like EMP weapons don't even have to be based on a nuke going off above the atmosphere anymore, and that Russia and China are ahead of us in creating such things. China And Russia Ahead Of U.S In EMP Weapons Tech

 

[Aryeh Jay]

US warships and Military aircraft are hardened against EMP.

 

[NightHawkeye]

I sure hope this is true of military ships and aircraft. It certainly isn't for the power grid the rest of us depend on. It looks like EMP weapons don't even have to be based on a nuke going off above the atmosphere anymore, and that Russia and China are ahead of us in creating such things. China And Russia Ahead Of U.S In EMP Weapons Tech

The power grid is an interesting case. The power grid is basically a giant antenna which can collect EM energy and funnel it to power substations (as well as individual homes and businesses). Like airliners, the electric grid is largely protected against the massive energy dumps caused by lightning ... but not always. The issue with EMP, IMHO, is that it could cause just enough failures throughout the system to bring the entire system down. The only solution would seem to be isolating various parts of the grid from other parts. A good analogy would be watertight bulkheads within a ship so that flooding within one or more compartments wouldn't sink the ship.

I don't believe the electric grid has done that yet though. Instead, the grid is designed to route external power into sections which have failed. Obviously, that's less than desirable after an EMP has damaged multiple sections of the grid.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

The problem with EMP is that affects everything.

So you better hope that whatever plane is delivering the "EMP bomb" is hardened against EMP itself, and that none of your own navy are around.

It's why even when you have overwhelmingly superior power (e.g. Gulf War), people don't go around throwing EMP weapons everywhere

 

[NightHawkeye]

The problem with EMP is that affects everything.

So you better hope that whatever plane is delivering the "EMP bomb" is hardened against EMP itself, and that none of your own navy are around.

EMP bomb dropped by plane ...

... that's just not how it works.

 

[Tanj]

Surely an EMP only effects "everything" within a certain radius? Taking out the entire US fleet would require an EMP that spans the Pacific and Atlantic. Can they penetrate water and affect subs?

 

[NightHawkeye]

Surely an EMP only effects "everything" within a certain radius?

True. As with other nuclear weapons within a small, but certain, radius "everything" is vaporized. Within a somewhat larger radius the blast concussion simply destroys most objects, including people. Finally, at even larger radii EMP effects damage susceptible equipment. The greater the distance from the blast the smaller the EM Pulse and the less likely it is to cause damage.

Taking out the entire US fleet would require an EMP that spans the Pacific and Atlantic.

... and for the fleet to be vulnerable. The ships and engines have little susceptibility themselves though computers and navigation equipment might have some. Weapons would likely be affected not at all.

Can they penetrate water and affect subs?

No, except maybe when a sub is on the surface.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

The ships will act like a giant Faraday cage.

 

[essentialsaltes]

NYT tracks how a parody article made its way through Russian propaganda to the Sun and FoxNews.

 

[NightHawkeye]

NYT tracks how a parody article made its way through Russian propaganda to the Sun and FoxNews.

While on the other hand ...

Democrats are falling for fake news about Russia: Why liberal conspiracy theories are flourishing in the age of Trump

In March, the New York Times published an op-ed by Mensch instructing members of Congress as to how they should proceed with the Russia investigation (“I have some relevant experience,” she wrote). Two months prior to that, Mensch had penned a lengthy letter to Vladimir Putin titled “Dear Mr. Putin, Let’s Play Chess” — in which she claims to have discovered that Edward Snowden was part of a years-in-the-making Russian plot to discredit Hillary Clinton.

Last Thursday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) was forced to apologize for spreading a false claim that a New York grand jury was investigating Trump and Russia. His sources, according to the Guardian’s Jon Swaine, were Mensch and Palmer.​