New Weapon Designed to Zap Scuba Divers

[Sharkbaithawaii]

Raytheon is just trying to be a little proactive. I think what everyone is looking for is an automated responsive system that could detect/identify/tract/respond to something in the water that doesn't need constant monitoring by a body. There is plenty of different sonars carried on board that could effective do this in different parts. Raytheon is just trying to develop a system that will put all those parts together in one package. Combine that with the ability to be user friendly and not need a lot of babysitting, and you got a winner.

I actually did have to do this once with divers in the water in St Croix. Needless to say we immediately went active and sure enough 2 divers game up rather quickly, with cameras and some nice pics of things they shouldn't have (They said they were unaware that they were doing anything wrong until they surface to all of those armed individuals pointing weapons their way). I got to develop them on the ship and them turn them over to NCIS when we got home.

 

[padrediver]

READ THIS ON "NEW SCIENTIST" CURRENT WEBSITE!!!!

:11: (or how to protect your favorite secret dive site)

Spy-diver killer
If you are scuba diving, be sure not to swim anywhere near any ship or installation that has been protected by the Raytheon Corporation's new "swimmer denial" system. Otherwise you will very quickly feel extremely sick and probably drown.

Raytheon’s underwater sensors detect any unwelcome presence and trigger an underwater sound system that emits extremely powerful pulses of low frequency audio. The pulse rate and audio frequency are chosen to make human organs resonate like organ pipes, causing swimmers to vomit into their masks or suffer internal ruptures.

The idea of blasting very powerful sound at underwater targets is not new. It can even be used to detonate incoming torpedoes. But it can also cause havoc with marine life.

Raytheon's new system is "greener" because the main sound projector, in the middle of the secure zone, emits sounds with power and frequency that are relatively safe. A dozen or so secondary projectors in a ring round the zone also emit safe pulses. But in the region near each secondary projector the main and secondaries combine to produce a sound which is decidedly dangerous.

Would-be spies or terrorists cannot get through the ring but there is no widespread danger to fish, dolphins or whales.

 

[D_B]

READ THIS ON "NEW SCIENTIST" CURRENT WEBSITE!!!!

:11: (or how to protect your favorite secret dive site)

Spy-diver killer
If you are scuba diving, be sure not to swim anywhere near any ship or installation that has been protected by the Raytheon Corporation's new "swimmer denial" system. Otherwise you will very quickly feel extremely sick and probably drown.

Raytheon’s underwater sensors detect any unwelcome presence and trigger an underwater sound system that emits extremely powerful pulses of low frequency audio. The pulse rate and audio frequency are chosen to make human organs resonate like organ pipes, causing swimmers to vomit into their masks or suffer internal ruptures.

The idea of blasting very powerful sound at underwater targets is not new. It can even be used to detonate incoming torpedoes. But it can also cause havoc with marine life.

Raytheon's new system is "greener" because the main sound projector, in the middle of the secure zone, emits sounds with power and frequency that are relatively safe. A dozen or so secondary projectors in a ring round the zone also emit safe pulses. But in the region near each secondary projector the main and secondaries combine to produce a sound which is decidedly dangerous.

Would-be spies or terrorists cannot get through the ring but there is no widespread danger to fish, dolphins or whales.

Thanks, this is the first time we've heard anything about it

 

[markfm]

I know people don't like the idea, but there are not-so-nice people out there. The detection side of the equation has been worked on, by multiple companies. Currently, if an active, stop-them, response is desired you get to toss the percussion grenades else activate your long range sonar (the long range search sonars have very powerful transducers). Unfortunately long range sonar doesn't offer a lot of "tuneability", control, isn't designed as a weapon system; no "warning" tone/zone -- they ping, you're hurting.

I absolutely don't expect to see this as some master computer-driven always-on system, blithely toasting people, and I do expect this to be quite controlled -- unlike, for instance, chaff being used for missiles shot at AC, this is explicitly designed to kill those who ignore the warning.

I would expect it to be normally off, sometimes man-in-the-loop semi-auto (ready to go, but requires a positive action), rarely placed fully auto (tightly coupled to an underwater swimmer detection sonar). Military vessels in a high alert state are not something that joe diver accidentally runs into underwater, and the warning zone is there explicitly to let "D'uh" divers know it's time to stop and surface.

 

[DiveBandit]

This is the first I've heard of this device. You would think it's use would be somehow communicated to divers. If you own a boat you know off limit areas are clearly marked on a marine chart giving you plenty of notice to stay away. Additionally, any idiot can tell a militairy vessel from a pleasure craft. I'm not sure I could tell a militairy craft from a large boat from underneath it! How would you let divers know of such a device before its too late. If this goes widespread "ItsBruce" may indeed have a lucrative practice.

 

[markfm]

The idea is that it only ratchets up, has bad effects, close in, near the secondary projectors.

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...84".PGNR.&OS=DN/20050232084&RS=DN/20050232084

"the main sound projector, in the middle of the secure zone, emits sounds with power and frequency that are relatively safe. A dozen or so secondary projectors in a ring round the zone also emit safe pulses. But in the region near each secondary projector the main and secondaries combine to produce a sound which is decidedly dangerous."

Any diver choosing to continue swimming towards an active sonar, amplitude increasing as you draw closer, is inviting trouble. It's giving clear indication that this is not a place to head towards.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Well now... that coupled with the killer dolphins might make diving around the local Naval Station a bit more risky.

Don't be shy UP that was a great thread, worth reading again:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread?p=102021

 

[padrediver]

Remember that cruise liner that was attacked a while back?
They got rid of the attackers with an on-deck sonic weapon.
I'll bet the cruise lines WILL install this device to protect passengers
from underwater terrorists planting explosives on the hulls of cruise liners.
The billionaire floating palaces(supermegayachts) have ALREADY HAD THESE
DEVICES FOR SEVERAL YEARS. The smaller hundred/two hundred footers
will have them before long. Since these yachts are a constant
presence at the better dive areas, this is a real threat.
Any low paid crew member on one of these tugs could switch on the
UW denial system for a lark to get all those rich scuba divers.

How long before the "spy shoppes" start selling $129.95 units on the web?
How long before a "build your own UW denial zapper kit" appears in the "POPSCI" classifieds? Amazing Products has a 600volt "fish stunner" kit in the ads as I type. Any basic
technician could add a few "voltage doublers" in series
to this thing to convert it to a diver killer! This has got me
thinking about staying out of the water for a while.
No one thought terrorists would fly airliners into office buildings.
This could destroy the sport diving industry.

 

[markfm]

This is a whole different class of sonar from commercial units. This is not the kind of thing where you can take a handful of commercially available units, strap them together, add a chip.

 

[Lonefox]

Is Osama running a terrorist diver training camp somewhere?

If so, will they provide Open Water courses, and what skills would they cover. Other than search and destroy, and how to remove and replace your explosives belt underwater.