The Role of D.E.W. in Countering the Piracy Threat RAdm. Massimo Annati, ITN (ret’d) [email protected] • Forum for exchanging information and promoting cooperation • Maintains the Commercially Available NLW Data- Base • Support to EDA No-Le-Cap Project Team • 7th NLW Symposium (May 2013, Ettlingen, Germany) www.non-lethal-weapons.com Non-Lethal Weapons NATO Definition Non-Lethal Weapons are weapons which are explicitly designed and developed to incapacitate or repel personnel, with a low probability of fatality or permanent injury, or to disable equipment, with minimal undesired damage or impact on the environment.” NATO POLICY on NLW (AC/259-N559) • Take military action in situations where use of lethal force is not the preferred option • Improve force’s protection • Delay / prevent hostile actions • Control escalation Provide the warfighters with different options ! Piracy - Geographic Spread 2005 – 165 nm Off Coast Northernmost Attack 2006 – 200 nm Off Coast 15 Jan 11 2007 – 200 nm Off Coast MV SAMHO JEWELRY 2008 – 445 nm Off Coast (Pirated) 2009 – 1,200 nm Off Coast 2010 – 1,500+ nm Off Coast Haradeere Easternmost Attack 5 Dec 10 MV JAHAN MONI (Pirated) Southernmost Attack 28 Dec 10 FV VEGA 5 (Pirated) Area of Interest Self-Help Required ! Two Worlds Apart ? Navy – Military Merchant Marine • Warning • Warning • Determine intent • Determine intent • Deter • Deter • Disable • Disable Two Worlds Apart ! Navy – Military Merchant Marine • Back up weapons • No back up • Legal restrictions • Legal restrictions (humanitarian) (criminal cases) • Cost & Training • Cost & Training !!! Two Worlds Apart ! Pirates Militias ≠ Insurgents • Opportunistic Terrorists predators • Not willing to die • Escaping from fight Is there any pirate ? Here they are ! M/V Mother Ship: POLAR w/ 2 Attack Skiffs on-deck (November 2010 – Far Northern Somali Basin) Are They Pirates ? And What About These ? And These ? And These ? • Killing an hostile subject is the easiest part of the job. • The difficult part is determining whether the subject is hostile or not… • Sensors don’t provide the target intentions and, most of the times, not even its clear identification. "If your only tool is a hammer, then all your problems will look like nails." Stopping Suspect, Lethal Force Use Lethal Force International Defeat Prior Incident to Hostile Act Hostile Act No Action Taken Takes Place No active engagement Not Threat Threat Stopping Suspect, Non-Lethal Force Act before discriminate Use Lethal Force International Defeat Prior Incident to Hostile Act Graduated NL response Hostile Act No Action Taken Takes Place No active engagement Not Threat Threat USS Cole, Yemen (12 Oct 2000): MV Global Patriot, Suez (25 March 2008): No Action (Wrong) Action –17 US sailors killed -1 Egyptian killed –$ 100 mil repair -2 wounded –2 yrs out of service Non-Lethal “Weapons” Directed Energy “Weapons” • Cause a direct and concrete effect • Reversible (non-permanent) effect on personnel • Reversible or permanent effect on material without collateral consequences on human beings Non-Lethal “Capabilities” Directed Energy “Capabilities” • Influence behavior without direct effect on personnel • Mostly used for warning and, as consequence, determining the intent Warn Determine Intent: If the subject, after receiving unambiguous warnings, keeps a potentially dangerous behavior, then becomes a legitimate target for reaction Deter: Non-Lethal reaction – Voluntary compliance (pain or fear of worse) Deny: Non-Lethal reaction – Incapacitation (physically stopped-disabled) Lethal reaction Warning – Determining Intent • Acoustic (Long Range Hailing Devices) • Visual (Light Array or Laser Dazzler) • Combined Deter Voluntary compliance (pain or fear of worse) • Active Denial System (?) • Dazzling Laser • Thermal Effect Laser (?) Deny Incapacitation (physically stopped-disabled) Don’t rely upon voluntary compliance ! (paramount when dealing with motivated opponents and potential kamikaze) • Dazzling Laser • RF Engine Stopper • High Energy (anti-material) Laser Lethal Reaction • (DEW, but not NLW) • HEL, FEL, COIL, … • Speed of light • No risk of collateral damage (?) Are they reliable and available any soon ? Laser Dazzling Pointer - Targeting Dazzler • The diverging beam of dazzler increases the safety of the laser and facilitates long-range aiming at moving targets and multiple individuals. At 100 meters, the spot size of a dazzler is already about 1 m, facilitating aiming at a moving individual, vehicle, or group of individuals, while keeping the laser harmless to the human eye • Human eye 4X more sensitive to green light than red light during the day, • 360X more sensitive to green at night. UK Royal Navy Fleet Intent Determination System Laser (Thales) Acoustic Hailing Device (Hyperspike) US Navy GBD-III C GBD-III C (IOC May 2009) GBD-III C viewed through the windshield of incoming boat: range 500 yds • Meyer’s GBD-IIIC replaced by Meyer’s LA-9P. • Hail & Warn: 300 m day 4,000 m night • “Offensive” glaring (dazzling) at up to 500 m (night) • 250 mW power • Safety Ctrl Module turns-off if subject below safety range: – 18 m - instantaneously – 39 m - 0.25 sec – 63 m - 10 sec Marines decided not to purchase anymore• of these lasers, problems with lasing in dusty environment SeaLase II • 5,000 mW to 20,000 mW available (vs. 250 mW hand-held LA-9P) • Different modes of operation : Illumination, Warning, Deterrence, Supression • Selectable Beam Divergence • +Camera, +Range Finder, +Remote Ctrl, +Auto-Tracking Inherent risks of excessive power = ocular damage We are not alone ! April 1997, Kapitan Man, a Russian vessel dazzled a Canadian Sea King helo, causing retinal damage to CDF pilot and USN intelligence officer We are not alone ! 2010. A Dutch Marinier suffered retinal damage to a laser pointer during a patrol in the Gulf of Aden. Probably his boat was wrongly identified as pirate by a PSC operator. We are not alone ! Acoustic Hailing Device Acoustic Hailing Devices Acoustic Hailing Device Ultra Electronics Hyperspike; American Technologies LRAD We are not alone… LRAD 1000 Performances Pain Threshold Annoyance LRAD is a Communication Device, not a Weapon ! • However MV Seaburn Spirit in 2005 was likely saved by a failed RPG…not by LRAD Achieving the Effect (for real…) Source: NURC La Spezia • Dazzler and Acoustic • Close range aiming errors undermine close range effects 48 Distributed Sound & Light Array Active Denial System RF Vessel Stopper (US) Non-lethal vessel stopping at extended range Safely stop or significantly impede the movement of occupied vessels with minimal collateral damage in support of either (or both) the maritime defense and interdiction missions. Proposed concepts for use in maritime defense missions must prevent vessel from physically approaching within 100 meters. Proposed interdiction mission concepts must be employable at close ranges (~25 meters) and effective in chase-type scenarios where the targeted vessel is fleeing from the chase platform. RF Vessel Stopper (Italy) Adaptation of existing FCS Radar under consideration, but preliminary evaluations were not satisfactory; RTN-25X: densità di potenza sulla linea di mira (scala logaritmica) 60 50 40 30 dBW/mq 20 10 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 m DESTO (Directed Energy Stopper) PRT 50 μsec (max 1000), Freq from 50 MHz to 1500 MHz in 0.325 sec, Peak Power >> 3,5 GWatts, R > 200 mt (expected) •Planar array wide-band antennas •SELEX - SI Problems and Limits • Acoustic Hailing Device is not a weapon ! • Dazzle Laser: some doubts related to Fourth Protocol (blinding laser) periodically resurface • Active Denial System is it really non-lethal (inherent safe) against a fast approaching target ? Is it acceptable ? Cost $$$ ? • RF Vessel Stopper: easy countermeasures ? • Hostile NLW: we need countermeasures Two Worlds Apart ! Navy – Military Merchant Marine • Back up weapons • No back up • Legal restrictions • Legal restrictions (humanitarian) (criminal cases) • Cost & Training • Cost & Training !!! • Non-Lethal Weapons • Non-Lethal Capabilities • Non-Lethal Non-Weapons Questions ? [email protected] .