Electromagnetic Pulse Attack

8/20/2019 Electromagnetic Pulse Attack

1/20


2/20

2

THINK AHEADPreparing for the Threat to Our Wired World


3/20

An Electromagnetic Pulse EventCould Change Your Life in an Instant

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a high-intensity burst of

electromagnetic energy caused by the rapid acceleration of

charged particles. An EMP event could disable the country’s

electrical grid—shutting down nearly all communication,

transportation, and service systems.

Nuclear weapons, radio-frequency weapons, or geomagnetic

storms (often called solar storms) can all cause EMPs or EMP-like effects. For terrorists or rogue states not as dependent on

electricity as the United States is, an EMP attack is a way to

cause devastating damage. And, as the solar system enters a

period of increased solar activity, it is really a question of when,

not if, the next geomagnetic storm will occur.1

Whether natural or man-made, an EMP event would have an

effect on the magnetic field in the Earth’s atmosphere that

could change the fabric of our society as we know it. We need

urgent action in the face of this threat.

HOW DOES AN EMP WORK

An EMP has three main components:

An electromagnetic shock disrupts electronics,

such as communication systems

An effect similar to lightning rapidly follows,

compounding the initial shock

This lightning-like pulse flows through electric

transmission lines, overloading and damaging

power lines, fuses, and transmission

distribution centers

In an EMP event, the damage to critical infrastructures

and electronic systems is compounded because the EMP’

components occur within split seconds of each other.2

?


4/20

4

Why Is an EMP Attack a Problem?

In many respects, an EMP attack is a unique and unprecedented

threat to the United States. Our society depends on electricity

more today than it has at any point in history. An EMP would

irreparably damage many critical systems:

■ Food and water supplies would be disrupted

■ Communications, transportation, and emergency

services would be severely hindered

■ Banking, finance, and energy sectors would be crippled

■ Computers and electronics would not work

Disruption in these sectors would seriously complicate and

delay restoration efforts. It could take days, weeks, months, or

even years to restore the impacted systems to their original

performance, depending on the scale of the event. The federalgovernment and most states have not addressed the vulnerabilities

of our critical systems to EMP events.

EMP-LIKE EVENTS HAVE

HAPPENED BEFORE IN AMERICA

On July 13, 1977, two lightning strikes causedoverloading in the electric power substationsof the Con Edison power company in New York City. These

lightning strikes, together the equivalent of only a tiny fractio

of an EMP, caused a power failure throughout the New

York area. This blackout lasted only one day, yet resulted inwidespread looting and the breakdown of law throughout ma

New York neighborhoods.

The blackout cost approximately $346 million, and nearly

3,000 people were arrested during the 26-hour period. The

New York Police Department was completely overwhelmed

as it tried to preserve order. The social order degenerated so

quickly that Time magazine called it a “Night of Terror.” Imagi

what could happen in the aftermath of an EMP event, when

cities could lose power for weeks and even months.3


5/20

On August 14, 2003, more than 200 powerplants were shut down as a result of an electricitycutoff caused by cascading failure—after a software bug in

computer systems in one of the Ohio’s power plants caused

an initial blackout. The Northeast blackout affected Ohio, NewYork, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and parts of Canada.

Affected communities were advised to boil drinking water due

to contamination from the failure of sewage systems and other

health threats caused by the loss of water pressure. Many

backup generators proved unable to manage the crisis.

Day one of the blackout brought massive traffic jams and

gridlock when people tried to get home without traffic lights.

Additional transportation problems arose when railways,

airlines, gas stations, and oil refineries halted operations.

Telephone lines were overwhelmed due to the high volume of

calls, while many radio and television stations went off-air.

Overall, the blackout’s economic cost was between $7 billion

and $10 billion due to food spoilage, lost production, overtimewages, and other related costs.4

EMPs IN POPULAR CULTUR

Creative producers in Hollywood imaga future that reveals some of the real riEMP presents:

American Blackout (Documentary, 2013)

National Geographic’s look at cyber-terror

and power-grid failure shows only one of t

many consequences a successful EMP atta

would have.

Red Dawn (Film Drama, 1984) This Cold W

era classic considers what resources do yo

need if society breaks down.

Revolution (TV Drama, 2012-2014) When

EMP event disables all electricity on Earth,

chaos ensues.


6/20

6 Circuits blow and all electricity is down


7/20

SAFETY THREATENEDIN THE HOME

Street lighting is dar

When burglar alarms are triggered,will anyone come to check them out?

Water and sewer service, which are runby computer systems, are unavailable


8/20

8

With only limited backupstock of nonperishableitems, grocery storesare unable to meet thedemand for food


9/20

Even if the EMP’s effect is localizto one city (such as New York), sto

close because of damage to financand telecommunications services

possibly for wee

ATM machines lose power, makingcash withdrawals impossible


10/20

10 Surges following an EMP may cause electrical fires


11/20

LIVES THREATENEDAT LOCAL HOSPITALS

Medical servicescollapse


12/20

12

Most of America’s 130 million cars and 90 milliontrucks are immediately disabled


13/20

Losing GPS, media, weather-tracking, andother systems affects not only citizens—it throws emergency dispatch and even

the military response into disarray

TRANSPORTATIONAND TRAVE

THREATENED


14/20

14

“

”

Key Stats

1

2

3

The average U.S. city has only 3 days worth

of food and health care provisions. MostAmericans do not have enough batteries to

keep flashlights working for any period of

time, much less generator capabilities.5

The National Academy of Sciences

estimates the cost of damage from the most

extreme solar weather at $1 to $2 trillion,

with a recovery time of 4 to 10 years.6

The last major geomagnetic storm

occurred in 1921. Major storms are rare and

occur approximately once every hundred

years. If such a storm occurred today, it

could interrupt power to as many as 130

million Americans.7

Space weather can affect human safety

and economies anywhere on our vast wire

planet, and blasts of electrically-charged

gas traveling from the Sun at up to 5 millio

miles an hour can strike with little warnin

—Joint statement by John P. Holdren, science

and technology adviser to President Barack

Obama, and John Beddington, chief scienti

adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron8


15/20

Our Adversaries Are Not Timid

Our enemies are developing (or already

have developed) capabilities that candeliver an EMP. The threat is real. Russian

nuclear weapons have been optimized to

generate enhanced EMP effects. Analysts

have also identified Chinese military

writings that discuss using EMP weapons in

international conflicts. Both of these states

have ballistic missiles of all ranges that

would allow them to deliver an EMP attack.

An EMP weapon would be advantageous forrogue states like Iran and North Korea as well as stateless

terrorist groups because they are less dependent on

modern technologies and electronics. Russian scientists

were reportedly helping North Korea develop an enhanced

EMP weapon, and North Korea has been advancing ballistic

missile technologies that could deliver an EMP attack.

The materials used to build non-nuclear EMP weaponscan be easily acquired or manufactured by moderately

developed terrorist groups with limited financial resources.

Although the potential impact is more limited than from a

nuclear weapons induced EMP, a non-nuclear EMP device

could still inflict major damage.

Such weapons are radio-frequency devices—easier tomaneuver, conceal, and deliver. A non-nuclear EMP device

must be detonated close to the target and affects only

localized areas. While it is difficult to estimate the damage of

an improvised attack, during a 1993 non-nuclear EMP device

test, the U.S. military shut down engine controls 300 meters

away at a contractor site.9


16/20

16

Protecting America Againstthe EMP Threat

Local communities, states, and the federal government cantake important steps to mitigate the effects of an EMP event.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

■ Prepare at the family level. Ensure that your family knows and can recognize

the signs of an EMP event. Store emergency supplies including food, water, a

first-aid kit and manual, and medications.

■ Educate yourself and raise awareness of the EMP threat in your community.

Find out how an EMP event would affect your local infrastructure by meeting

with members of local industries and utilities. Raise questions about the

hazards of both natural and man-made EMP events.

■ Find out whether your state has an EMP emergency response plan. Many

states and even counties have established commissions that analyze thedangers of EMPs and develop plans to protect citizens, respond to the

aftermath, and recover after the event.


17/20

WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO

■ Add an EMP attack scenario to the official manual. The Department of Homeland Security’s 15 National Planning

Scenarios provide risk analysis for possible high-consequence threat scenarios, such as terrorist attacks or natural

disasters—but an EMP attack is not included today.10

■ Take all possible measures to protect and defend the nation against an EMP strike. On one side, it means taking

measures against rogue states to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to deliver the

It also means advancing U.S. missile defense programs that can intercept missiles, as well as reviving the development o

space-based interceptors. The U.S. should especially improve missile defense protection of the East Coast.

■ Provide resilience. The U.S.–Canadian electrical grid powers telecommunications nationwide. We must work to protec

the grid, identify means for the timely replacement of essential damaged parts and develop redundancy to better prepfor an EMP event.

■ Produce a national intelligence estimate on which countries are pursuing EMP weapons and associated delivery

systems—or are already capable of launching an EMP attack. Preparing for an attack means understanding one’s

opponents and how they are incorporating EMP weapons into their strategic postures.

It is essential that state and national leaders have the most recent intelligence—and real defense plans—at hand to determine ho

best to respond to EMP threats as they arise.

As families also take responsibility and prepare, America will be more safe and secure from an EMP crisis event.


18/20

18

ENDNOTES

1. Dr. John Foster, Jr., et al., Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: Volume 1: Executive Report,

report to Congress, 2004, http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf (accessed October 18, 2013).

2. James Jay Carafano, Baker Spring, and Richard Weitz, “Before the Lights Go Out: A Survey of EMP Preparedness Reveals Significant Shortfalls,” Heritage

Foundation Backgrounder No. 2596, August 15, 2011, http://www.heritage.org /research/reports/2011/08/before-the-lights-go-out-a-survey-of-emp-preparedness-reveals-significant-shortfalls.

3. James Jay Carafano and Richard Weitz, “EMP Attacks—What the U.S. Must Do Now,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2491, November 17, 2010,

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/11/emp-attacks-what-the-us-must-do-now.

4. The Electricity Consumers Resource Council, “The Economic Impacts of the August 2003 Blackout,” February 9, 2004,

http://www.elcon.org/Documents/EconomicImpactsOfAugust2003Blackout.pdf (accessed October 18, 2013).

5. Jena Baker McNeill and Richard Weitz, “Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: A Preventable Homeland Security Catastrophe,” Heritage Foundation Backgroun

No. 2199, October 20, 2008, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/10/electromagnetic-pulse-emp-attack-a-preventable-homeland-security-

catastrophe.

6. National Research Council of the National Academies, “Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts,” 2008,

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/lowres-Severe-Space-Weather-FINAL.pdf (accessed October 18, 2013).

7. Deborah Zabarenko, “Solar Superstorm Could Knock out US Power Grid—Experts,” Chicago Tribune, August 3, 2012, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/

2012-08-03/news/sns-rt-us-solar-superstormbre8721k8-20120803_1_power-grid-geomagnetic-transformers (accessed October 18, 2013).

8. Editorial, “Celestial Storm Warnings,” The New York Times, March 10, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/opinion/11iht-edholdren11.html

(accessed October 18, 2013).

9. McNeill and Weitz, “Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.”

10. Michaela Dodge and Jessica Zuckerman, “EMP Awareness Day: The First Step to Averting Disaster,” Heritage Foundation Issue Brief No. 4016, August 15, 201

http://www.heritage.org /research/reports/2013/08/emp-awareness-day-the-first-step-to-averting-disaster.


19/20

National Security is Your SecurityLearn more about security and defense issues from The Heritage Foundation

Protect America Magazine

This easy-to-read magazine is a one-stop information hub

regarding the United States Military … and where defense

needs to move in the future for a better-protected America.

Full-color magazine, 16 pages.

Understanding America Series

A series of engaging booklets, the Understanding America

Series explores how America’s commitment to the universa

truths of human equality and the right to self-government—

proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence—requires a

vigilant defense of the cause of liberty. Booklets, 20 pages e

7

A R O U N D T H E W

O R L D ?

7

I r a n, t he fo re mo s t s t

a te s po n so r o f

te r ro r i s m, s u p po r t

s ma n y g ro u p s t ha

t

ha ve k i l led A me r i

ca n s. S ho u ld I ra n g

e t

a n uc lea r wea po n,

it co u ld t h rea te n i

t s

ne ig h bo r s, c u r ta i l

o i l s u p p l ie s to t he

U. S.,

a nd ho ld U. S. fo re

ig n po l ic y ho s tage

.

A f g h a n i s t a n a nd P

a k i s t a n, “g ro u nd ze

ro ” i n

t he fig h taga in s t a

l-Qaeda a nd te r ro

r i s m,co u ld beco m

e

e ve n g rea te r so u rc

e s o f te r ro r i s m if U

. S. a nd a ll ied fo rc

e s

vaca te A fg ha n i s ta

n too soo n.

Te r ro r i s t sa fe ha ve

n s a re c ro p p i ng u p

i n p lace s

li ke Y e m e n a nd S o m

a l i a, fo me n t ing

u n re s t a nd e ve n r

eac h i ng in to R u s s

ia, C h i na,

a nd E u ro pe. I f te r r

o r i s t s se n se o u r re

so l ve to

fig h t wea ke n i ng,

we too co u ld see m

o re p lo t s

to s t r i ke u s he re a t

ho me.

5

S H O U L D T H E

U N I T E D S TA T

E S B E T H E

“ W O R L D ’ S P

O L I C E MA N ” ?

T he U.S. m i li ta r y

ca n no t a nd s ho u

ld no t e ngage in

e ve r y co n fl ic t o r

i n te r na t io na l c r i s

i s.

T ha t wo u ldco m

p ro m i seo u r read

ine s s to re s po nd

i f we we re a ttac

ked. Indeed, pa r t

o f

t he rea so n we ha

ve in ve s ted so m

uc h in t he U n i ted

Na t io n s i s toge

t o t he rs to co n t r i

b u te

t he i r fa i r s ha re t

o g lo ba l peace a n

d sec u ri ty. Ye t w

e ca n no t re ly o n

o t he rs to p ro tec t

u so r

o u r i n te re s t s. S la

s h i ngde fe n se p r

og ra m s so le l y to

mee t a na rb i t ra r y

bo t to m l i ne w i tho

u t

rega rd to w ha t w

e need to sec u re

o u r te r r ito ry a nd

i n te re s t sa nd kee

po u r co m m i t me

n t s

toa l lie s i s foo l is h

. It w i ll e nco u rag

e mo re agg re s s io

n f ro m t ho se w h

o co nc l ude we wo

n ’ t—

o r ca n ’ t—co me t

oo t he r s ’ de fe n s

e. I t ma ke s u sa l l

mo re v u l ne ra b le

toa t tac k. T he s u

re s t

sa feg ua rd o f pea

ce i s a U. S. m il ita

ry seco nd to no n

e a nd leade rs w h

o w i l l de p lo y i t. It

’s

w ha t P re s ide n t R

eaga n mea n t b y

“ peace t h ro ug h s

t re ng t h. ”

5

© A lam y

I

I S S U E 1

T h e S t a t e

o f O u r

M i l i t a r y PAG E

2

S h o u l d

t h e U n i t e d

S t a t e s B e

t h e W o r l d ’ s

P o l i c e m a n ?

PA G E 5

H o w Y o u

C a n P r e p a r e

f o r t h e N e x t

A t t a c k

PA G E 1 3

T h e T h r e a t

s

A m e r i c a

F a c e s PA G E S 6

- 7 H o w M u

c h

S h o u l d W e

S p e n d o n

D e f e n s e ?

PA G E 4

EXPLORE OUR FULL SELECTION OF BOOKLETS, FILMS, AND MORE AT SHOP.HERITAGE.ORG


20/20

20

DISASTER HAS STRUCK BEFORE.

PREPARE FOR WHEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN.

Power plants shut down. Food and water become scarce. Riots consume

cities in blackout. This isn’t a Hollywood disaster movie: Such chaos has

happened before, right here in America. And if an electro-magnetic pulse

(EMP) weapon triggers the next calamity, the effects will be much worse.

Experts at The Heritage Foundation are analyzing this emerging threat.

In this booklet, learn the science behind EMP, the real-world effects you could

expect to see after a significant event … and what you can do now to prepare.

GET THE LATEST NEWS AND RESEARCH ON THIS ISSUE AT HERITAGE.ORG/EMP

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

(202) 546-4400 | heritage.org

Electromagnetic Pulse Attack

Documents

Transcript of Electromagnetic Pulse Attack