They'll look like crazy.. the new US Navy will "saw" to prevent enemies from talking

The US Navy has succeeded in inventing an electronic device designed to prevent people from speaking, a form of non-lethal weapon. The new electronic device effectively repeats the listener's voice, preventing him from speaking.

The device was first developed and patented in 2019, but was only recently revealed, according to a report by New Scientist.

The main idea of ​​the weapon is to jam hostile human targets, since they will not be able to communicate effectively with others.

Dubbed the Acoustic Call and Disruption, or AHAD, the weapon has the ability to record and instantly broadcast speech to a target in milliseconds.

This mechanism is very similar to the annoying brother who repeats the words spoken by his brother to harass and confuse him, this action will disrupt the focus of the target, and in theory will discourage him from continuing to speak.

It is important to note that the device is not likely to be used on the battlefield anytime soon, and is likely to be used to control angry crowds or out-of-control rallies.

AHAAD was developed by engineers in the Navy's Cranes Division, an Indiana naval research and development facility that develops portable weapons.

Technical details

As for the technical details of the device, the quick review of his patent is really interesting. The device is aimed at the target, and the speech is repeated twice;

Once immediately and once after a short delay, this results in a delayed auditory feedback (DAF), which changes the speaker's natural perception of his or her voice in normal speech. vocal with a sufficiently long delay, such that the speaker's concentration is interrupted and it becomes difficult to continue speaking.

The following video shows a similar device in this field that was developed in Japan to explain the mechanism by which the device works.

AHAAD works by using a series of directional microphones and loudspeakers that can target the speaker's voice, then the speech is recorded and transmitted back in the same direction.

Interestingly, the broadcast sound is on a narrow beam and only the person speaking will hear it.

Not only will this confuse the target, but it will eventually prevent him from concentrating and not talking.

In this way, the target's behavior will change significantly, and it is also likely to confuse anyone listening to the target person.

In other words, this weapon will make the target think he is crazy, and so will the people around him as well.

Such a technique is likely to be most effective when the repetition of speech is one or two syllables behind the target speaker.

Imagine, for example, how much distraction it would be if you encountered any echo of your own voice in a phone call.

It is also important to note that devices such as Ahad can be used for other purposes.

For example, it can be used as a form of electronic communication device between ships.

This weapon joins the group of other non-lethal weapons currently used by the US armed forces, such as the long-range acoustic device, which is able to focus sound waves at high levels on the target;

This can lead to migraines, ringing in the ears, or mild pain and discomfort.

It has not yet been seen how the US armed forces will use these weapons, but they will certainly upset enemy fighters or rioters.