...................................................................... Microwave News, January-February 1987 ZAP! Six hundred scientists and engineers with security clearances spend the first week of December at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico examining the potential of high-power microwaves to zap enemy electronics... ... Many branches of the Department of Defense were represented, including the Air Force, the Army and the Navy, together with DARPA, DIA, and DNA. The Lawrence Livermore Labs were also well represented, as were most of the big defense contractors - General Dynamics, Physics International and TRW each have a high-power microwave testing facility. In addition to these sources, susceptibility and hardening, there was one on biological effects: Dr. David Erwin and Major Robert Downs represented the Air Force and Howard Bassen and Dr. John D'Andrea described the Army and Navy programs, respectively. Dr. Frank Barnes of the University of Colorado in Boulder presented a poster paper on his and Dr. Howard Wachtel's research on the effects of pulsed microwaves. Chuck de Caro, a former correspondent for the Cable News Network, considers the possibility that the U.S. is falling behind the U.S.S.R. in microwave weapons in "The Zap Gap", to be published in the March issue of "The Atlantic" (see also MWN November- December 1986). ...................................................................... Microwave News, January-February 1996 RF WEAPONS - Disabling People and Electronics The military continues to explore development of RF weapons for the conflicts of the future. For instance, the "First Directed Energy Warfare (DEW) Conference", held last year at the Mitre Corp. in McLean VA, featured Dr. David Erwin of the Armstrong Lab at Brooks AFB, San Antonio, TX, on "Directed Energy Warfare RF Effects", and D.r Jose Pina of the CIA on "Ground Combat Applications of RF". Other topics included "Personnel Vulnerability" and Directed Energy Warfare Biological Effects". -62-