Non-lethal weapon

File:Tazer use on US Army soliders.jpg

In the past, military and police faced with undesirable escalation of conflict had few acceptable options. Military personnel guarding embassies often found themselves restricted to carrying unloaded weapons. National guards or policing forces charged with quelling riots were able to use only batons or similar club-like weapons, or bayonet or sword charges, or fire live ammunition at crowds. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Non-lethality Policy Review Group at U.S. Global Strategy Council[http://www.m2tech.us/images/upload/Nonlethality-A%20Global%20Strategy.pdf Nonlethality: A Global Strategy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305103649/http://www.m2tech.us/images/upload/Nonlethality-A%20Global%20Strategy.pdf |date=2012-03-05 }} in Washington and other independent think tanks around the world called for a concerted effort to develop weapons that were more life-conserving, environmentally friendly, and fiscally responsible than weapons available at that time.War and Anti-War, Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler, Little, Brown (1993), Chapter 15, p.125–136. The U.S. Congress and other governments agreed and began an organized development of non-lethal weapons to provide a range of options between talking and shooting.

Recognizing the need to limit the escalation of force, research and development of a range of non-lethal weapons has since been undertaken internationally by governments and weapons manufacturers to fill the need for such weapons. Some non-lethal weapons may provide more effective riot control than firearms, truncheons or bayonets with less risk of loss of life or serious injury. Before the general availability of early military non-lethal weapons in the mid 1990s, war-fighters had few or no casualty-limiting options for the employment of scalable force and were continually at risk whenever lethal force was prohibited during sensitive missions.

In 2001, the United States Marine Corps revealed its development of a less-than-lethal energy weapon called the Active Denial System, a focused high frequency microwave device said to be capable of heating all living matter in the target area rapidly and continuously for the duration of the beam, causing transient intolerable pain but no lasting damage. The skin temperature of a person subjected to this weapon can jump to approximately {{convert|130|°F|°C}} in as little as 2 seconds depending on the skin's starting temperature. The system is nonlethal (the penetration of the beam into human skin is only a few millimeters).{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/04/pain_ray_injure/|title=Pain Ray Injures Airman|magazine=Wired|first=Noah|last=Shachtman|date=2007-04-06}}

In 2004, author Jon Ronson cited an unclassified military report titled "Non-Lethal Weapons: Terms and References"{{cite book

| last =Ronson

| first =Jon

| title =The Men Who Stare at Goats

| publisher =Simon & Schuster

| year =2005

| page =[https://archive.org/details/menwhostareatgoa00rons_0/page/259 259]

| url =https://archive.org/details/menwhostareatgoa00rons_0/page/259

| isbn =0-7432-4192-4

| access-date =2007-08-28

}}{{cite web |url=http://www.zarc.com/english/non-lethal_weapons/nlt-usaf.html |title=USAF Institute for National Security Studies: Non-Lethal Weapons: Terms and References |access-date=2010-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304191858/http://www.zarc.com/english/non-lethal_weapons/nlt-usaf.html |archive-date=2010-03-04 |url-status=dead }} 21 acoustic weapons were listed, in various stages of development, including the Infrasound ("Very low-frequency sound which can travel long distances and easily penetrate most buildings and vehicles ... biophysical effects are projected to be: nausea, loss of bowels, disorientation, vomiting, potential internal organ damage or death may occur. Superior to ultrasound...)", however no such effects had been achieved {{As of|2002|lc=on}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2002/March/Pages/Acoustic-Energy4112.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719122933/http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2002/March/Pages/Acoustic-Energy4112.aspx|url-status=dead|title=National Defense Magazine|archivedate=July 19, 2010}}

In 2010, the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate Non-Lethal Weapons Reference Book was created. The weapons in this book are currently in development.{{cite web|url=http://publicintelligence.net/dod-non-lethal-weapons-2011/|title=(U//FOUO) DoD Non-Lethal Weapons Reference Book 2011 - Public Intelligence|date=27 December 2011 }}

{{More citations needed section|date=July 2012}}

Until the development of non-lethal weapons, police officers around the world had few if any non-lethal options for riot control. Common tactics used by police that were intended to be non-lethal or less lethal included a slowly advancing wall of men with batons, officers on horses trained to deal with policing situations, or a charge into a riot using the flats of sabers. Other reasonably successful approaches included shotguns with lower-powered cartridges, "salt shells", using bean-bag rounds and ricocheting shots off of the ground. In the mid-20th century, with the integration of fire-control systems into major cities, police found that high-pressure fire hoses could be effective in dispersing a crowd (the use of water cannons and fire trucks has remained an effective non-lethal tactic to disperse riots). Trained police dogs were also commonly used to scare and disperse rioters and apprehend individuals. In the 1980s the development of high-tensile plastics like Kevlar and Lexan revolutionized personal armor and shields, and led to new tactics for riot squads and other special-purpose teams. Officers could now stand up against violent rioters throwing dangerous projectiles without having to resort to lethal methods to quickly disperse the danger. Coupled with the introduction of effective non-lethal chemical agents such as tear gas and offensive-odor canisters, and non-lethal impact rounds such as rubber bullets and "bean bag" flexible baton rounds, riot tactics were modified to rely less on violent response to attacking rioters than on a return to the slowly advancing wall, with supporting officers firing non-lethal ordnance into the crowd to discourage advance.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Police officers on patrol were traditionally armed with batons or pistols or both, and non-lethal methods of subduing an attacker centered on hand-fighting techniques such as jujutsu and baton use. In the 1980s and 1990s officers began deploying non-lethal personal sidearms such as pepper sprays, and eventually electroshock weapons such as tasers, which were developed for use by police and also found a market in self-defense by private citizens. However, these weapons were developed for non-lethal resolution of one-on-one conflicts.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

During the 1990s and early 2000s (decade), interest in various other forms of less-than-lethal weapons for military and police use rose. Amongst other factors, the use of less-than-lethal weapons may be legal under international law and treaty in situations where weapons such as aerosol sprays or gases defined as chemical are not.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Between the years of 1987–1990, after a three-year field study by the FBI's Firearms Training Unit; In 1990, the use of oleoresin capsicum was approved and used by the FBI, the first official law enforcement agency to do so.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), police began to adopt a new pepper spray delivery system based on the equipment used in paintball. A specialized paintball, called a "pepperball", is filled with liquid or powdered capsaicin, the active ingredient in pepper spray, and is propelled by compressed gas using a paintball marker similar to those used for the sport but operating at a higher pressure. The impact of the capsule is immediately painful (a pepperball's shell is thicker than a standard paintball and is fired at a higher velocity), and it breaks open on impact, dispersing the capsaicin with similar effect to aerosol-delivered pepper spray. However, to be most effective, pepper spray must contact the eyes, nose, or mouth of the target; pepper spray on clothing or tougher skin has a much reduced effect.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

File:Soundweapon1.jpg|Long range acoustic device mounted on police vehicle, 2004 Republican National Convention, New York City

File:Kravallpolis.jpg|Swedish police in riot gear, carrying an extended telescopic baton

File:Taser-x26.jpg|A Taser X26 making an electrical arc between its two electrodes

File:US Navy 020821-N-8252B-003 During training, a U.S. Navy Master At Arms is sprayed with Oleoresin Capsicum, a non-lethal form of pepper spray for use in riot control.jpg|Pepper spray training

File:Exploded tear gas can on the fly.jpg|Exploded tear gas canister in the air

{{Expand section|date=July 2010}}

Non-lethal weapons have a design intent to provide an effect to reliably elicit a degree of incapacitation but without the typically lethal or permanent lasting effects of conventional weapons. This design intent has often made them a weapon of choice for use by law enforcement during civil protests, etc. Effect modalities vary by the technology being employed: kinetic projectiles function by blunt impact which actuate pain receptors to elicit a behavioral change, lights affect visual perception, acoustics affect hearing, etc.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Notwithstanding their design intent, non-lethal weapons can still cause harm. This is particularly true with certain technologies that interact with appropriately vulnerable regions; an example is kinetic munitions on the head, neck, eyes, abdominal and urogenital regions of the body.{{cite journal|title=Death, injury and disability from kinetic impact projectiles in crowd-control settings: a systematic review | first1 = Rohini J | last1 = Haar | first2 = Vincent | last2 = Iacopino | first3 = Nikhil | last3 = Ranadive | first4 = Madhavi | last4 = Dandu | first5 = Sheri D | last5 = Weiser | journal = BMJ Open | year=2017 | volume = 7 | pages = e018154 | number = 12 | publisher = British Medical Association | doi = 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018154 | pmc = 5736036 | pmid = 29255079}} As a result, some analysts describe "non-lethal" as a misnomer and recommend defining them as "less-lethal",{{cite journal |title=Non-lethal technologies—an overview| first1 =Nick | last1 = Lewer | first2 = Neil | last2 = Davison|year=2005 | journal = Disarmament Forum | volume = 1 | pages = 37–51| url = http://piohelp.ru/myfiles/acoustic/pdf-art2217.pdf }} whereas other sources identify "non-lethal" as representing a goal of minimization of producing fatalities or permanent injuries{{citation |title=DOD Directive 3000.3: Policy for Non-Lethal Weapons | date = July 9, 1996 | author = United States Department of Defense |url=https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/blaw/dodd/corres/pdf/d30003_070996/d30003p.pdf | author-link = United States Department of Defense }} while not literally requiring minimization to a zero probability thereof.

{{More citations needed|date=April 2010}}

Non-lethal weapons are intended to minimize injury or death. While people are occasionally seriously injured or killed by these weapons, fatalities are relatively infrequent. Causes of death from non-lethal weapons are varied and occasionally uncertain. Misplaced or ricocheting shots, pre-existing medical conditions, inadequate user training, repetitive applications and intentional misuse have been implicated in different cases where death has occurred.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

As different parts of the body differ in vulnerability, and because people vary in weight and fitness, any weapon powerful enough to incapacitate may be capable of killing under certain circumstances. Thus, "non-lethal force" does have some risk of causing death: in this context, "non-lethal" means only "not intended to kill".{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Several groups maintain there is great room for improvement in non-lethal weapons and procedures for their use. Claims for the relative safety of such weapons are usually contingent on their being used "properly". For example, the rubber bullets developed during the 1960s were supposed to be fired at the ground and hit the target only after ricochet,{{cite web |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0524-04.htm |title=Study Says Rubber Bullets Too Dangerous For Civil Crowd Control, from AP, 2002 |access-date=2010-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630111645/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0524-04.htm |archive-date=2010-06-30 |url-status=dead }} and other non-lethal bullets are designed to be fired at the lower body; they can be lethal if fired directly at the head.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Non-lethal rounds are firearm rounds which are designed to incapacitate, but not kill, a target. The rounds rely on the transfer of kinetic energy and blunt force trauma to accomplish this incapacitation. Rubber bullets, rubber buckshot, soft polymer rounds, wax bullets, plastic bullets, beanbag rounds, sponge grenades, ring airfoil projectiles (both kinetic and tear gas projectiles) and rubber bullets with electroshock effect (e.g. Taser XREP rounds) are less lethal than conventional metal bullets, and are also propelled at lower speed by using less propellant. "Bean bag" type bullets are sometimes referred to as flexible baton rounds. More recently, high-velocity paintball guns are also used to launch less-lethal rounds, including the FN 303 launcher and PepperBall commercial products.{{Cite web|url=https://pepperball.com/|title=PepperBall® | Non Lethal Weapons | Less Lethal | Police Non Lethal|website=pepperball.com}} There is also the Variable Velocity Weapon Concept, for which a propulsion energy source may not yet have been clearly established and/or finalized.{{cite magazine|url=http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/07/set-assault-rif.html|title=Army Looks to Turn Toy Into Next-Gen Rifle|magazine=Wired|first=David|last=Hambling|date=2008-07-23}} In any case, all of these technologies apply the same basic mechanism, which is to launch a mass at the target that interacts kinetically.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

File:Fiocchi rubber buckshot.jpg|Fiocchi 12-gauge rubber buckshot: containing 15, 8.3 mm, .58 gram rubber pellets, with a muzzle velocity of 790 fps.

File:Bean bag round close up.jpg|12-gauge beanbag rounds and exposed bean bag round projectile

File:Sam234am.PNG|U.S. M234 launcher ring airfoil projectile rounds

Image:M234.png|Launcher, projectile, 64 mm, riot control, M234

Hand grenades come in several less-lethal varieties, such as "flashbang" (stun) grenades, "sting" grenades with rubber shrapnel, and grenades designed to release chemical irritants (described below).{{Cite web |title=Stinger® CS Rubber Ball Grenade |url=https://www.defense-technology.com/product/stinger-cs-rubber-ball-grenade/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Defense Technology |language=en-US}}

In 1972, stun grenades were used to capture the hijacked Sabena Flight 571, allowing the Israeli forces headed by Ehud Barak and including Benjamin Netanyahu to storm the plane and take it over within 10 minutes while capturing two terrorists and killing Ali Taha, the leader of the terrorist group and his aide, while rescuing all passengers (three were wounded, and one died of her injuries several days later).{{Cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |date=2015-11-11 |title=Four hijackers and three Israeli PMs: the incredible story of Sabena flight 571 |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/sabena-flight-571-hijack-plane-black-september-film |access-date=2023-12-30 |issn=0261-3077}}

A stun grenade was apparently used by members of the IHH against the IDF soldiers during the Gaza flotilla raid at the beginning of the IDF storming of the Mavi Marmara.{{cite news|title=Global News Blog|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0602/Israel-releases-new-videos-of-Gaza-flotilla-raid|access-date=May 19, 2012|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=June 2, 2010}}

In June 2010, in Kenya, a stun grenade was used to draw attention, and then a real grenade along with an explosive package were used, killing many people. In April, during the 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising, police attempted to use stun grenades to stop a demonstration but the crowd overwhelmed the police.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} In March stun grenades were used by Belarusian police in Minsk against demonstrators, and in September they were used by Greek police in Athens.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} In these latter two cases, the demonstrations were dispersed with no injuries.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In February 2011, stun grenades were seen used by Egyptian police against rioters.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

{{Further|Incapacitating agent}}

File:Wasserwerfer.jpg

Water cannons are commonly used in crowd and riot control, for dispersal or to prevent movement on a particular position. These water cannons are intended to disperse crowds with little risk of harm, but the pressure can still cause eye injuries or even death. Water-filled rounds for small arms are in experimental stages.{{Cite web |title=Health Impacts of Crowd-Control Weapons: Water Cannons |url=https://phr.org/our-work/resources/health-impacts-of-crowd-control-weapons-water-cannons/ |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=PHR |language=en-US}}

Electrified water cannons were in development but was abandoned.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Malodorants produce strong odours that cause people to leave the affected area. In 2008, the Israeli Defence Forces began using Skunk for crowd control. It is a form of mist sprayed from a water cannon, which leaves a terrible odor of rot or sewage on whatever it touches, and does not wash off easily.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7646894.stm|title=New Israeli weapon kicks up stink|date=2008-10-02|access-date=2019-06-10|language=en-GB}}

The active ingredient in pepper spray is oleoresin capsicum (OC), an acrid irritant chemical derived from cayenne pepper plants.{{cite web |url=http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/162358.pdf |title=Evaluation of Pepper Spray |last1=Edwards |first1=Steven M. |last2=Granfield |first2=John |last3=Onnen |first3=Jamie |date=February 1997 |publisher=National Institute of Justice |work=Research in Brief |access-date=August 6, 2013}}

A 1998 estimate by the International Association of Chiefs of Police suggested at least 113 pepper spray-related fatalities had occurred in the United States, all with aggravating factors such as intoxication, pre-existing health problems, or from the police use of airway-restrictive immobilizing holds that can cause positional asphyxia.{{cite web |url=http://www.terryjallen.com/journo-subP/teargas.htm |title=Tear Gas: Chemical Cops |last=Allen |first=Terry J. |work=In These Times |date=May 29, 2000 |access-date=October 4, 2011}} The Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union recommends against maximal prone restraint techniques following pepper spray application, and they caution that anyone sprayed should be monitored to ensure effective breathing.{{cite web |url=http://www.aclu-sc.org/attach/p/Pepper_Spray_New_Questions.pdf |title=Pepper Spray Update: More Fatalities, More Questions |publisher=ACLU of Southern California |date=June 1995 |access-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929133130/http://www.aclu-sc.org/attach/p/Pepper_Spray_New_Questions.pdf |url-status=dead }}

File:VPD anti-riot officers.jpg rioters.]]

The use of chemical weapons such as tear gas (CS) and pepper spray (OC) has come under increasing scrutiny and criticism due to studies showing serious long term side effects. Many police forces are no longer exposing their members to the chemicals during training.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}{{Cite journal |title= Tear gas: An epidemiological and mechanistic reassessment|year=2016 |pmc=5096012 |last1=Rothenberg |first1=C. |last2=Achanta |first2=S. |last3=Svendsen |first3=E. R. |last4=Jordt |first4=S. |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |volume=1378 |issue=1 |pages=96–107 |doi=10.1111/nyas.13141 |doi-access=free |pmid=27391380 |bibcode=2016NYASA1378...96R }}

Journalist Rubén Salazar was killed in Los Angeles in 1970 by an errant CS gas canister during the Chicano riots. Other serious injuries and fatalities have occurred from either tear gas itself or the projectiles it is delivered in, including the critical injury of veteran Scott Olsen from a tear gas canister during the 2011 Occupy Oakland protests.{{cite web|title = Oakland Police Critically Injure Iraq War Veteran During Occupy Protest|url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/iraq-vet-oakland-police-tear-gas_n_1033159.html|website = The Huffington Post|access-date = 2016-01-08|date = 2011-10-26}}

{{Main|Psychochemical weapons}}

Psychochemical weapons are psychoactive drugs, such as BZ, LSD, Kolokol-1, EA-3167, and 3-Methylamphetamine designed to have a disorienting effect when used during combat or interrogation.Rózsa L 2009. [http://www.zoologia.hu//list/subst.pdf A psychochemical weapon considered by the Warsaw Pact: a research note. Substance Use & Misuse, 44, 172-178.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721115755/http://www.zoologia.hu//list/subst.pdf |date=2011-07-21 }} accessed: 27. 11. 2009.

During the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis, Russian special forces used an unidentified gas (thought to be 3-methylfentanyl or another fentanyl variant dissolved in halothane gas) in an attempt to induce sleep in both hostages and terrorists. Many of the hostages and terrorists (including all of the suicide bombers) were anesthetized, but some terrorists donned gas masks and thus were able to avoid the effects of the gas. Because the agent used was a potent Fentanyl derivative (a synthetic opioid), it causes respiratory depression and ultimately respiratory failure if administered in high enough dosages. The central nervous system effects, such as anesthesia and respiratory depression could have been reversed by an opioid antagonist such as naloxone, which is stocked by hospitals and most ambulances. However, because the Russian authorities did not release any information regarding what type of agent was used, medical professionals were unaware that an opioid had been used during the rescue attempt and thus were unable to administer the antidote which could have saved most hostages. Approximately 700 hostages were rescued, while 130 died from exposure to the gas. All the terrorists were ultimately killed by Russian forces through some combination of gas exposure and gunfire.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

{{Further|Incapacitating agent}}

Blister agents, including CR gas, are less often used riot control agents. Other irritants include CS gas and nonivamide (PAVA).{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

{{Main|Sticky foam}}

Sticky foam was tried by the U.S. Marine Corps in the peacekeeping Operation United Shield in 1995 with some success, but as a result various complications in its field use were also discovered.{{cite journal|last=Scott|first=Steven H.|editor-first1=John B. |editor-first2=Debra D. |editor-first3=Steve |editor-first4=Basil J. |editor-last1=Alexander |editor-last2=Spencer |editor-last3=Schmit |editor-last4=Steele |title=Sticky foam as a less-than-lethal technology|journal=Security Systems and Nonlethal Technologies for Law Enforcement |date=January 1997|bibcode=1997SPIE.2934...96S|volume=2934|publisher=SPIE|location=Sandia National Laboratories|id=1997SPIE.2934...96S|pages=96–103|quote=...describes these recent developments of sticky foam for non-lethal uses and some of the lessons learned from scenario and application testing.|doi=10.1117/12.265402|s2cid =111371006|url =https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc677999/|url-access=subscription}}

{{Main|Area denial weapons}}

Area denial weapons work by either incapacitating or deterring the enemy.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

File:Caltrop from Vietnam 1968.jpg

Vehicle stoppers include a wide range of methods and devices meant to disable a vessel or vehicle to prevent attack by an oncoming vessel or vehicle or to stop that vessel or vehicle for evaluation. Vessel and vehicle stoppers may include kinetic, chemical, or electromagnetic means.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aoZYYz1ZieYC&pg=PA7 |page=7 |last=Bunker |first=Robert J. |title=Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and References |publisher=DIANE Publishing |year=1997 |isbn=142899193X |volume=15 |series=INSS occasional paper |author2=USAF Institute for National Security Studies}}{{Cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2013-12-pulses-immobilize-cars-rf-safe-stop.html|title=Pulses immobilize cars with RF Safe-Stop from e2v|website=phys.org}}{{cite web|url=http://savelec-project.eu/|title=Savelec project - Home Page|access-date=2014-10-25|archive-date=2017-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704154456/http://savelec-project.eu/|url-status=dead}}

Simple rows or clusters of sharpened sticks (also known as punji sticks), and the use of small caltrops have been a feature of anti-infantry warfare for centuries."[http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3805676.html Weaponry: The Caltrop]", Reid, Robert W., originally in Military History, August 1998 They are known to have been in use since Roman times and may have been used earlier: the concept was familiar to the 4th century BC Greeks, who used rocks, brush, nets and trees placed in the path of enemy conveyances on land or ensnarement devices hidden under water to achieve the same result: stop the enemy or suspected hostile in his tracks for examination or to prevent or limit incursions. Contemporary caltrops look something like large jacks from the childhood game. Placed in the path of oncoming wheeled or tracked vehicles, they are meant to foul wheels, destroy tires and tracks, and incapacitate vehicles.

However, due to the difficulty of mass-producing them in the pre-modern age, they were rarely used except in the defense of limited areas or chokepoints, especially during sieges, where they were used to help seal breaches. Increasing ease of production still did not prevent these methods from slowly falling out of favor from the late Middle Ages onward.

Caltrops are still sometimes used in modern conflicts, such as during the Korean War, where Chinese troops, often wearing only light shoes, were particularly vulnerable. In modern times, special caltrops are also sometimes used against wheeled vehicles with pneumatic tires. Some South American urban guerrillas as the Tupamaros and Montoneros called them "miguelitos" and used these as a tactic to avoid pursuit after ambushes.{{Cite web|url=http://rcci.net/globalizacion/2008/fg747.htm|title=Tupamaros. De las armas a las urnas|website=rcci.net}}

File:Polizist_Pepperball_Dresden.jpg]]

In current usage a riot gun or less-lethal launcher is a type of firearm that is used to fire "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" ammunition for the purpose of suppressing riots. Less-lethal launchers may be special purpose firearms designed for riot control use, or standard firearms, usually shotguns and grenade launchers, adapted to riot control use with appropriate ammunition. The ammunition is most commonly found in 12 gauge (18.5 mm/.729 inch) shotguns and 37mm (1.46 inch) or 40mm (1.57 inch) grenade launchers.

In the United States, the term "riot gun" more commonly refers to a riot shotgun that shoots baton rounds or bean bag rounds.

In recent years, law enforcement, military and other security organizations sometimes use a type of paintball marker-like weapon that shoot frangible pepper-spray projectiles, which rupture upon impact and release chemical aerosols that irritates the eyes and nose of nearby individuals. Such weapons are used generally in the role of stand-off weapons, where physical proximity to a suspect is deemed dangerous but deadly force is not warranted. The irritant payload may differ from product to product but is usually a capsaicinoid powder called PAVA (capsaicin II), and less frequently a liquid or gas.[http://www.pepperball.com/faq.html FAQ Page of Vendor PepperBall Technology - Retrieved October 7, 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908070223/http://www.pepperball.com/faq.html |date=September 8, 2011 }}Product Page of Vendor PepperBall Technology - Retrieved October 7, 2011 {{cite web |url=http://www.pepperball.com/products.html |title=PepperBall Technologies Incorporated | Products |accessdate=2011-10-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007064138/http://www.pepperball.com/products.html |archivedate=2011-10-07 }}[http://www.fnhusa.com/ FN 303 projectiles Product Page - Retrieved October 7, 2011]

Electroshock weapons are incapacitant weapons used for subduing a person by administering electric shock aimed at disrupting superficial muscle functions. One type is a conductive energy device (CED), an electroshock gun popularly known by the brand name "Taser", which fires projectiles that administer the shock through a thin, flexible wire. Other electroshock weapons such as stun guns, stun batons, and electroshock belts administer an electric shock by direct contact.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

File:Long Range Acoustic Device 500X in New York City.jpg officer stands ready with a sonic weapon, the LRAD 500X, at an Occupy Wall Street protest on November 17, 2011 near the New York City Hall]]

{{Main|Directed-energy weapon}}

Directed energy weapons are weapons that emit energy in an aimed direction without the means of a projectile. They are non-lethal and can immobilize people as well as machines (e.g. vehicles).{{cite web |url=http://eurekaaerospace.com/hpems.php |title=HPEM Active Denial System disabling vehicles |access-date=2009-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306144123/http://www.eurekaaerospace.com/hpems.php |archive-date=2009-03-06 |url-status=dead }} Directed energy weapons include electromagnetic weapons, (including laser weapons) and microwave weapons, particle beam weapons, sonic weapons and plasma weapons.

HSV Technologies, Inc. (named for its founders, Herr, Schlesinger and Vernon; not to be confused with Holden Special Vehicles), formerly of San Diego, California, USA, then Port Orchard, WA, designed a non-lethal device which was profiled in the 2002 TIME magazine article "Beyond the Rubber Bullet". It is an electrolaser using ultraviolet laser beams of 193 nm, and promises to immobilize living targets at a distance without contact. There is plan for an engine-disabling variation for use against the electronic ignitions of cars using a 248 nm laser. The lead inventor, Eric Herr, died in 2008 and the company appears to have been dissolved, with their website defunct as of September 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.hsvti.com|title=lasik|access-date=2019-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418130104/http://www.hsvti.com/|archive-date=2018-04-18|url-status=dead}}

Pulsed energy projectiles or (PEP) is a technology of non-lethal directed energy weaponry currently under development by the US military. It involves the emission of an invisible laser pulse which, upon contact with the target, ablates the surface and creates a small amount of exploding plasma. This produces a pressure wave designed to stun the target and knock them off their feet, and electromagnetic radiation that affects nerve cells causing a painful sensation.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The pulsed energy projectile is intended for riot control and is said to work over distances of up to 2 km. It weighs about 230 kg and will probably be mounted on vehicles. The weight could become lighter as laser production technology improves.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The system was developed by Mission Research Corporation (now owned by Orbital ATK). It uses a chemical deuterium fluoride laser device producing infrared laser pulses. The plasma (produced by the early part of the pulse) explodes because its electrons absorb the energy of the later part of the pulse.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 2003, a US military review reported{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} that the electromagnetic radiation produced by PEPs had been shown to cause pain and temporary paralysis in animal experiments.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

United States Special Operations Command FY 2010 plans included starting developmental work on a counter UAV pulsed energy projectile.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/pep.htm|title=Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP)|first=John|last=Pike}}

An active denial system (ADS) is a dish that projects electromagnetic radiation just powerful enough to penetrate human skin and make the victim feel as though they are on fire, although no physical damage is done.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

The ADS is a non-lethal, directed-energy weapon developed by the US military,{{cite web|access-date=March 2, 2008|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/v-mads.htm|title=Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System (V-MADS) |publisher=Global Security |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305153515/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/v-mads.htm|archive-date=March 5, 2008 |url-status=live}} designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control.{{cite web|url=http://www.dvidshub.net/news/85028/new-marine-corps-non-lethal-weapon-heats-things-up|title=DVIDS - News - New Marine Corps non-lethal weapon heats things up|work=DVIDS|access-date=November 1, 2014}} Informally, the weapon has also been referred to as a "heat ray",Ross Kerber, [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/09/24/ray_gun_sci_fi_staple_meets_reality/ "Ray gun, sci-fi staple, meets reality"]. Boston Globe, September 24, 2004. since it works by heating the surface of targets, such as the skin of targeted human subjects.{{Cite web |title=Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office > About > Frequently Asked Questions > Active Denial System FAQs |url=https://jnlwp.defense.gov/About/Frequently-Asked-Questions/Active-Denial-System-FAQs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115055117/http://jnlwp.defense.gov/About/Frequently-Asked-Questions/Active-Denial-System-FAQs/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2016 |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=jnlwp.defense.gov}}

In 2011, the ADS was redesigned to make it smaller, more reliable, and able to be used on the move. The ADS II is being designed to operate from moving aircraft, as well as moving ground vehicles. The redesign does not address problems in different environmental conditions.[http://strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20121003.aspx Death Ray Turns Warm And Fuzzy] – Strategypage.com, October 3, 2012

Air Force Special Operations Command is experimenting with mounting an ADS on the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship to target threatening crowds or individuals on the ground. This is to give the gunship a non-lethal option so the crew has more engagement options. Due to the increasing number of engagements in populated areas, the Air Force is aiming to field a system within 10 years to have enough aircraft available with non-lethal systems.[http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-special-forces-pursuing-ac-130-based-active-denial-415124/ US Special Forces pursuing AC-130-based 'active denial system'] - Flightglobal.com, 29 July 2015 The aircraft will apparently use the ADS II version.[http://strategypage.com/htmw/htairw/articles/20150810.aspx AC-130J Gets A Ray Gun] - Strategypage.com, 10 August 2015

A dazzler is a directed-energy weapon intended to temporarily blind or disorient its target with intense directed radiation. Targets can include sensors or human vision. Dazzlers emit infrared or invisible light against various electronic sensors, and visible light against humans, when they are intended to cause no long-term damage to eyes. The emitters are usually lasers, making what is termed a laser dazzler. Most of the contemporary systems are man-portable, and operate in either the red (a laser diode) or green (a diode-pumped solid-state laser, DPSS) areas of the electromagnetic spectrum.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Initially developed for military use, non-military products are becoming available for use in law enforcement and security.{{cite web |url=http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/us-cops-and-military-to-get-laser-guns-602983 |title=US cops and military to get laser guns |date=27 May 2009 |author=Mark Harris |publisher=Techradar.com |access-date=28 July 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20011548-71.html |title=Police to experiment with blinding 'Dazer Laser'? |author=Chris Matyszczyk |date=23 July 2010 |publisher=CNET.com |access-date=28 July 2010 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025223731/http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20011548-71.html |url-status=dead }}

Weapons designed to cause permanent blindness are banned by the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. The dazzler is a non-lethal weapon intended to cause temporary blindness or disorientation and therefore falls outside this protocol.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

File:PHASR Rifle.jpg

The personnel halting and stimulation response rifle (PHASR) is a prototype non-lethal laser dazzler developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate, U.S. Department of Defense.Eva D. Blaylock (Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate Public Affairs). [https://www.af.mil/News/story/storyID/123012699/ New technology 'dazzles' aggressors], The Official Website of the U.S. Air Force, Posted November 2, 2005 Its purpose is to temporarily disorient and blind a target. Blinding laser weapons have been tested in the past, but were banned under the 1995 UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which the United States acceded to on 21 January 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.unog.ch/__80256ee600585943.nsf/(httpPages)/3ce7cfc0aa4a7548c12571c00039cb0c?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=1%2C3%2C2#_Section1|title=United Nations Office at Geneva|publisher=www.unog.ch|access-date=15 January 2009}} The PHASR rifle, a low-intensity laser, is not prohibited under this regulation, as the blinding effect is intended to be temporary. It also uses a two-wavelength laser.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071204111913/http://www.kirtland.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070404-043.pdf PERSONNEL HALTING and STIMULATION RESPONSE (PHaSR) Fact Sheet], Air Force Research Laboratory, Office of Public Affairs, April 2006; [https://web.archive.org/web/20080313035036/http://www.kirtland.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070404-043.pdf Archived] The PHASR was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate in New Mexico.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Several nations developed blinding laser weapons and they were allegedly used during the war in Donbas by Russia.{{Cite web|url=https://uawire.org/news/three-ukrainian-border-guards-in-the-donbas-suffer-retina-burns-after-being-shot-with-laser-pointers|title=UAWire - Three Ukrainian border guards in the Donbas suffer retina burns after being shot with laser weapons|website=uawire.org}}

The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device developed by LRAD Corporation to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems are used for long-range communications in a variety of applications{{cite web|url=http://www.lradx.com/application/|title=Long Range Acoustic Device Industry Applications - Public Safety & Security Solution|access-date=2016-08-07|archive-date=2017-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310075013/https://www.lradx.com/application/|url-status=dead}} including as a means of non-lethal, non-kinetic crowd control. Though they have been called "sonic weapons",{{cite web|last=Sheets|first=Tess|title=P.A. system or 'sonic weapon'? Cops' use of military-grade speakers at Orlando protests prompts backlash|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-orlando-george-floyd-protests-lrad-opd-20200625-vke7xwiggbg23llwetr4eggsz4-story.html|access-date=2021-07-04|website=orlandosentinel.com|date=25 June 2020 }} LRADs are not inherently for military use. The round black devices on top of New York City police Hummers are LRADs.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

According to the manufacturer's specifications, the systems weigh from {{convert|15|to|320|lb}} and can emit sound in a 30°- 60° beam at 2.5 kHz.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0kUYUOtG0AC&pg=PA65 |page=65 |last=Corbett |first=Peter |title=A Modern Plague of Pirates |isbn=978-0-9562107-0-8|year=2009 |publisher=Captain Peter Corbett }} The manufacturer also produces systems for public address and mass notification use that broadcast 360°.{{cite web|url=http://www.lradx.com/product_categories/lrad_mass_notification_systems/|title=LRAD Mass Notification & Life Safety Systems Archives - LRAD Corporation|access-date=2016-08-07|archive-date=2017-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310073033/https://www.lradx.com/product_categories/lrad_mass_notification_systems/|url-status=dead}}

In the United States, the University of Texas-Austin Institute for Advanced Technology (IAT) conducts basic research to advance electrodynamics and hypervelocity physics related to electromagnetic weapons.Exploiting Technical Opportunities to Capture Advanced Capabilities for Our Soldiers; Army AL&T; 2007 Oct-Dec; Dr. Reed Skaggs [https://web.archive.org/web/20090219135915/http://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/2007/4_OctNovDec/articles/16_Exploiting_Technical_Opportunities_to_Capture_Advanced_Capabilities_for_Our_Soldiers_200710.pdf Exploiting Technical Opportunities to Capture Advanced Capabilities for Our Soldiers]

Although generally considered "non-lethal weapons", electromagnetic weapons do pose health threats to humans. In fact, "non-lethal weapons can sometimes be deadly."Air University Research Template: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20051119210739/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cst/csat34.pdf NON-LETHAL WEAPONS: SETTING OUR PHASERS ON STUN? Potential Strategic Blessings and Curses of Non-Lethal Weapons on the Battlefield]"; Erik L. Nutley, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF; August 2003; Occasional Paper No. 34; Center for Strategy and Technology; Air War College; Air University; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; PG12

United States Department of Defense policy explicitly states that non-lethal weapons "shall not be required to have a zero probability of producing fatalities or permanent injuries."Department of Defense; DIRECTIVE; [https://web.archive.org/web/20110322204520/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300003p.pdf NUMBER 3000.3]; July 9, 1996; Certified Current as of November 21, 2003; ASD(SO/LIC); SUBJECT: Policy for Non-Lethal Weapons; References: (a) Title 10, United States Code; (b) DoD Directive TS-3600.1, "Information Warfare (U)", December 21, 1992; PG. 3 Although a Human Effects Advisory Panel was established in 1998 to provide independent assessment on human effects, data, and models for the use of 'non-lethal weapons' on the general population,[http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/nld4/kenny.pdf Human Effects Advisory Panel Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041114161030/http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/nld4/kenny.pdf |date=2004-11-14 }}; presented to: NDIANon-Lethal Defense IV the TECOM Technology Symposium in 1997 concluded on non-lethal weapons: "Determining the target effects on personnel is the greatest challenge to the testing community," primarily because "the potential of injury and death severely limits human tests." However, "directed energy weapons that target the central nervous system and cause neurophysiological disorders" may violate the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980. And weapons that go beyond non-lethal intentions and cause "superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering" could violate the Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1977."[http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/1621.pdf Non-Lethal Weaponry: From Tactical to Strategic Applications] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031223201043/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/1621.pdf |date=2003-12-23 }}; Colonel Dennis B. Herbert, USMC (Ret.), program developer, Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies at Pennsylvania State University; pg. 4 Safety and evaluation of the physical and psychological effects of the long-term or repetitive uses of the pain-inducing non-lethal weapons on humans have not been well understood or studied in any great details. Any such studies require explicit consent of all participants so as not to violate the UN Convention against torture and other cruelties.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Pepper spray is one non-lethal weapon alleged to have been misused by American police. In two incidents in California in 1997, police swabbed pepper spray directly into the eyes of protesters.[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/067/1997/en/ USA: Police use of pepper spray - tantamount to torture]. Amnesty International, 4 November 1997. Amnesty International condemned these actions, and claimed that they were likely a violation of the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute in Virginia states that: "The relevant (electromagnetic weapon) technology is well within the grasp of some countries and transnational terrorist groups", and further states that U.S. hardware is susceptible to microwave and other directed-energy weapons.Inside the Pentagon; Cebrowski calls for cultural changes; DEFENSE OFFICIALS URGE COMMON FRAMEWORK FOR PRECISION ATTACKS; April 3, 2003 [http://209.85.215.104/unclesam?q=cache:EVT0Miqqv0EJ:www.oft.osd.mil/library/library_files/article_42_Inside%2520the%2520Pentagon--story%2520from%2520Flash%2520conference.doc+electromagnetic+weapons+heart+attacks&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us]{{Dead link|date=April 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}

Suitable materials and tools to create electromagnetic weapons are commonly available. "The threat of electromagnetic bomb proliferation is very real."{{cite web|url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/kopp/apjemp.html |title=The Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction |date=10 December 2000 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001210071700/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/kopp/apjemp.html |archive-date=10 December 2000 }}

{{Div col}}

• Demoralization (warfare)
• Electronic warfare
• Gas pistol
• LED Incapacitator
• Net gun
• New physical principles weapons
• Pain compliance
• Peroneal strike (hand-to-hand technique)
• R.I.P. cartridge
• Stun belt
• Tranquillizer gun

{{Div col end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Less-lethal weapons}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040324175918/http://www.cfr.org/pdf/Nonlethal_TF.pdf Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force Report on Nonlethal Weapons]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060402/http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/dodreg/bldodreg3000-3.htm usmilitary.about.com (Non-lethal weapons)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120305103701/http://www.m2tech.us/images/upload/WeaponsOfMassProtection.pdf Weapons of Mass Protection, Air Force Journal article on Nonlethal Weapons.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040815084829/http://www.sunshine-project.org/incapacitants/ The Sunshine Project, 'Non-Lethal' Incapacitating (Bio)Chemical Weapons (website)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100326052330/http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/nlw/research_reports/docs/BNLWRPResearchReportNo8_Mar06.pdf Centre for Conflict Resolution, Department of Peace Studies, Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project (BNLWRP), Research Report No. 8]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020802144616/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,322588,00.html Time - Beyond the rubber bullet]
• [http://www.less-lethal.org Less-Lethal.org - Non Lethal and Less Lethal Law Enforcement Technologies]. Hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
• [https://jifco.defense.gov/ US Deptment of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program].
• [https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/19-15/CH9.htm Field Manual No. 19-15 Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC, 25 November 1985 FM 19-15 CIVIL DISTURBANCES]
• {{cite episode|title=Documenting Police Use of Force|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=WGBH|date=April 30, 2024|season=42|number=15|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/documenting-police-use-of-force/|access-date=September 30, 2024}}

{{Weapons}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Lethal Weapon}}

Category:Anti-personnel weapons

Category:Area denial weapons

Category:Incapacitating agents

Category:Law enforcement equipment

Category:Law enforcement techniques

Category:Military equipment

Category:Peacekeeping