(53) It is estimated that a multi-megaton nuclear
EMP weapon detonated over the center of North America would cause severe disruption and damage from coast to coast and, according to Dr.
What's more, the video reveals some new weapons and gadgets for Arkham Knight's Batmobile, one of which is an
EMP weapon. Players can use this to immobilize other vehicles for a short period of time.
Despite Gortney's concerns, he still believes that if a KN-08 was fired at the US homeland, in the Admiral's words -- "Should one get airborne and come at us [the US homeland], I'm confident we would be able to knock it down." Even if this is true, it is not clear if the US ballistic defense could knock down an incoming North Korean ICBM in time, if the nuke is intended as an
EMP weapon, which explodes soon after re-entering the atmosphere.
Terrorists could also build a "crude" non-nuclear
EMP weapon, with the power to cause disruption over a more limited area.
"The potential threats of a Carrington-size space weather event or a high-altitude nuclear
EMP weapon would have specific and potentially devastating impacts upon the electrical grid and other aspects of electronic infrastructure, which play an absolutely critical role in UK society," it said.
An
EMP weapon would most likely be built to fit a Mk.80-series shape and be mated with a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tailkit.
The result of exploding an
EMP weapon will be a high-voltage electrical "spike" propagating along any exposed conductive cables.
The risk of a severe space weather event is regarded as being considerably more likely than a high-altitude nuclear strike, or the development and deployment of low-level
EMP weapons by terrorists.
The Los Alamos national laboratory first demonstrated
EMP weapons in the 1950s, and "since that time a wide range of [EMP-weapon] configurations has been built and tested, both in the US and [Russia]." (54)
(53) For a more comprehensive discussion of
EMP weapons, see CRS Report RL32544, High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and High Power Microwave (HPM) Devices: Threat Assessments, by Clay Wilson.
Air-defense systems built around
EMP weapons could nullify many a Chinese threat of the future," according to Ghosh.