Electronic Weapons: October 27, 2004

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The U.S. Army received 132 Warlock radio frequency jammers during the Summer. These $50,000 devices can jam all radio signals used to trigger roadside bombs, and other booby traps. The company that created Warlock, built on an earlier device, Shortstop, that jammed the radio signals used by many artillery and mortar shells, causing the shells to detonate prematurely. Warlock was so successful that the army wants another thousand of them. These will begin arriving next year. The widespread use of Warlock will force the ambushers to detonate their bombs via wire delivered signals. This will make the bombs harder to position, and the guy setting it off more vulnerable to getting caught, or killed. Warlock will not eliminate roadside bombs, but it will make them less effective.