Pentagon Searches for Smaller, more Effective Stun Gun

If there is one thing that the Pentagon knows how to do well it is to develop more advanced weapons. Currently, the research department is trying to create a more effective, smaller weapon that combines the benefits of a stun gun and a TASER.

The nanosecond electrical pulse project is focusing on using electrical impulses to temporarily paralyze people by causing a disruption to the nervous system. This technique is how a TASER works, allowing it to overcome people who might not react to pain in a normal fashion such as psychopathic individuals.

One of the goals is to allow this weapon to work in a “wireless” fashion. A typical stun gun requires contact with the individual to be stunned. While there is a form of wireless TASER, the nanosecond pulses should allow the size of the weapon to be reduced. Researchers hope that the charge delivered by this new stun gun will be of longer duration as well.

While the weapon is not yet ready to be tested on a human subject, it has been used on brine shrimp, rats and swine. Temporary effects were noted with all subjects but the duration has not yet been revealed.

It is unknown how long it will be before the research pays off in a weapon that can be effectively used outside the laboratory. This weapon is one of several currently under investigation and development by the Joint Nonlethal Weapons Program Directorate, a group that has received over two million dollars in funding over the last few years.

There are clear advantages to a weapon that is as small as a stun gun but still delivers a neurologically overwhelming charge without causing permanent harm. Portability is always an issue for law enforcement officers and soldiers in the field. Determining the value of a weapon can come down to just how heavy or awkward it is.