| HERF stands for High Energy Radio Frequency. HERF guns
are able to shoot a high power radio signal at an electronic target and
put it out of function. The damage can be moderate (e.g. that a system
shuts down, but can be restarted) or severe (e.g. the system hardware has
been physically damaged). Electronic circuits are more vulnerable to overload
that most people would suspect. This mechanism uses HERF guns with big
success. In essence, HERF guns are nothing but radio transmitters. They
send a concentrated radio signal to the target. The target can be a mainframe
inside a business building, an entire network in a building, or as today's
planes and cars are stuffed with electronic equipment, the target can even
be a moving vehicle with all the inherent dangers for the people who are
inside.
EMP stands for electromagnetic pulse. The source can be
a nuclear or a non-nuclear detonation. It can be used by special forces
teams who infiltrate the enemy's and detonate a device near their electronic
devices. It destroys the electronics of all computer and communication
systems in a quite large area. The EMP bomb can be smaller than a HERF
gun to cause a similar amount of damage and is typically used to damage
not a single target (not aiming in one direction) but to damage all equipment
near the bomb. |