Electronic Weapons: June 4, 2005

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Three years after it was first introduced (in the Summer of 2002), the U.S. Armys Prophet electronic warfare systems will be joined by an upgraded version (Prophet II/III). Prophet, which fits into the back of a hummer, has been very useful in Iraq and Afghanistan. The main use of Prophet is detecting and locating radio transmissions. The new version will be able to detect a wider range of frequencies, and can locate where a transmission is coming from more quickly and accurately. Locating enemy use of off-the-shelf radios, especially in urban areas, has been a regular assignment for Prophet. Each brigade in a combat zone gets several of the Prophet systems (which includes a telescoping twenty foot mast that can be erected in about two minutes.) The Prophet systems cost about two million dollars each.