---
title: "China Says Its New Microwave Weapon Inflicts Horrible Pain"
description: "China says it's developing a non-lethal weapon that uses millimeter microwave radar tech to inflict horrible pain on targets."
date: "2019-02-24"
modified: "2019-02-24"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-microwave-weapon-horrible-pain"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "microwave"
  - "the digest"
  - "weapon"
---

# China Says Its New Microwave Weapon Inflicts Horrible Pain

![China says it's developing a non-lethal weapon that uses millimeter microwave radar tech to inflict horrible pain on targets.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/china-microwave-weapon-horrible-pain.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Home Depot/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Microwave Weapon

China says it's developing a non-lethal weapon that uses microwave radar tech to inflict horrible pain on targets.

The chief architect of the project [told the *Global Times*](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1139703.shtml>) — a state-run Chinese tabloid — that the weapon, which is called the Microwave Active Denial System, shoots targets with millimeter microwaves in order to cause horrible nerve pain under the skin.

## Nerve Pain

China's Beijing Institute of Radio Measurement and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation worked together to create the weapon. Spokespeople said it could be used to fight terrorism, during "maritime convoy missions," and for border defense.

The weapon has two modes: one is a focused mode for attacking individual targets, according to the *Global Times*, and the other is a "sector-sweep" that meant to attack large crowds. It can also be mounted to a vehicle, according to the *Global Times*.

## Popcorn Mode

The *People's Daily,* which is closely aligned with the Chinese government, isn't a [particularly reliable source](<https://qz.com/745577/inside-the-global-times-chinas-hawkish-belligerent-state-tabloid/>) — the same important caveat as other reports of futuristic weapons, like Russia's gun that it says can [make enemies hallucinate](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-weapon-navy-hallucinate>).

But China's braggadocio about the new weapon, which the newspaper said the Chinese government might try to sell to other countries, shows that world powers are hungry for new ways to quell uprisings and control their populations.

**READ MORE:** [China develops weapon system based on microwave radar tech](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1139703.shtml>) \[*The Global Times*\]

***More on microwave weapons:*** [New Microwave Gun Disables Missiles and Airplanes from 10 Kilometers Away](<https://futurism.com/new-microwave-gun-disables-missiles-and-airplanes-from-10-kilometers-away>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)