Non-lethal weapon

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A non-lethal weapon ( English non-lethal weapon , hence also: non-lethal weapon or non-lethal agent ; abbreviation NLW ) is intended to incapacitate people or drive them away, but not kill them. However, because the use of such weapons can still be fatal (e.g. due to incorrect or inadequate use / handling, conflicts with other operational resources or due to design), the term less lethal weapon is also used (from less- (than-) lethal weapon ) used.

Reasons and goals for developing non-lethal weapons

A common goal in armed conflicts and when violence is used is to temporarily or permanently incapacitate the opponent or criminal. Many of the current projects in this sector are more to be understood as experiments for the future, as they are technically or financially not feasible. However, there are already many functioning non-lethal weapon systems in place. The partially achieved effectiveness with comparatively low costs for acquisition and / or operation subsequently leads to a surprisingly high efficiency of the weapon system. A major reason for the corresponding developments is that, for example, the police must observe the principle of proportionality when using technical means. It must therefore be able to react appropriately to the circumstances. So far, there have been few alternatives between violence without the use of weapons and the use of firearms, such as the baton or the irritant spray device .

application

In principle, non-lethal weapons should be used wherever lethal weapons are used, i.e. both militarily in war operations or on peace missions and by the police . The developers of such weapons describe hostage liberations , riots , demonstrations and prison riots as areas of application .

The main areas of application of today's non-lethal weapons are the fight against crime and terrorism as well as the use by protection troops ( UN peacekeeping forces , ISAF ) to freeze hostilities or riots against state authority and to keep the risk for the population low.

Electric shock guns are already being used by European and US police units, as is the irritant gas used in demonstrations . Due to ever advancing development, the trend is also towards offensive use by the military in active combat operations.

Fundamental technical problem

A non-lethal weapon should not cause permanent damage, but should nonetheless render a person incapable of fighting quickly, effectively and in the best case at a distance. The main problem is getting the right dose . This can best be illustrated with the example of a punch of a fist or a stick:

A blow to the chest that incapacitates a normal adult male can break bones in a normal woman and kill a very old person or a child. A trained martial artist, on the other hand, is not necessarily incapacitated by such a blow.

Differentiated knowledge of the constitution of the counterpart is therefore required in order to select the dose.

Legal treatment

According to the Hague Land Warfare Regulations and the Geneva Conventions , the use of atomic, biological or chemical weapons ( ABC weapons ) is prohibited during a war, but is generally permitted for use in one's own country. At the moment, based on research by the Sunshine Project, US defense companies are suspected of developing stunning grenades with a wide range of effects.

Non-lethal weapons are used in self-defense situations. In this way, victims have the opportunity to defend themselves against an attacker ( self-defense ) without causing permanent harm.

NTWs are used in so-called " guarding situations " because they are safe for their users. The NTW is supposed to inflict pain and shock , surprise and confuse those shot at, in order to force a situation of superiority or arrest.

Ethical and political treatment

The term non-lethal weapon is mostly a euphemism , because most weapons that are labeled "non-lethal" are nonetheless lethal in certain cases of use . For this reason, the term "less lethal" (Engl. Is often less-lethal ) used not to rule out the possible deadly effect.

Advocating politicians in particular call these weapons even more euphemistically “non-lethal active agent” in order to disguise the weapon character, because the term “active agent ” can be interpreted as too general and harmless outside of military or similar usage. Related to this is the fear that weapons that are capable of causing damage will be glossed over, while protection against injuries loses its reputation as passive or protective weapons . This term, which comes from the political field, has now been adopted by the state security forces and has thus been introduced as a corresponding technical term. In the corresponding research institutions and manufacturing companies, the term non-lethal agent has largely replaced the original term. However, this is not only due to the ethical treatment, but rather of a practical nature, since in this way the English and German technical terms have the same abbreviation NLW .

The term "less lethal" weapon, as a term translated into German, also takes getting used to. Due to increased public criticism of the concept of non-lethal weapons, the official language is increasingly in the direction of this more cautious formulation.

The use of less lethal weapons by the police force can significantly reduce the inhibition threshold in their use. This can lead to electric shock devices such as the Taser being used for a disproportionately small cause.

Overview of different types of weapons

Repellants

Repellants or repulsive substances are probably the lowest escalation level of non-lethal weapons. They give off a very unpleasant stench for people and are used to block off places against people entering or staying. The substances are usually sedentary for several weeks. Well-known representatives of this group are the synthetically produced active ingredients of the anal gland secretion of the Skunks (( E ) -2-butenyl mercaptan, 3-methylbutanethiol). In some cases, preparations are used that were originally intended as repellants against dogs or cats, for example the Skunk Shot developed in New Zealand .

Irritants

Chemical irritants are used to disperse crowds or to drive people out of buildings or hiding places. Irritants can obstruct the view and cause pain. When using aerosols , the user is exposed to the risk of being hit by the aerosol himself. That is why state forces often use drop- jet weapons instead of spray weapons .

water cannon

Water cannons are vehicles that can spray water under high pressure in a targeted manner. Their range is over 60 meters at a pressure of 15 bar. The water jet literally washes away obstacles and can sometimes cause serious injuries to people. Irritants can be added to the water.

Anesthetics

With anesthetic agents attackers are stunned and are thus incapacitated. The use of fentanyl derivatives is known . In 2002 , during the hostage-taking in Moscow's Dubrovka Theater, the effects of incorrect dosing became apparent when at least 129 hostages and 41 hostage-takers died. Whether it was actually an incorrect dosage is controversial, as it has been proven that the wrong positioning of the person led to suffocation. The exact composition of the anesthetic substance used has not yet been published. 721 of the 850 hostages were rescued.

Material destruction

Microorganisms

Microorganisms could, for example, be used to destroy radar-repellent and camouflaging paintwork on vehicles.

Acetylene grenades

The active ingredient acetylene destroys diesel engines when they suck in the acetylene-air mixture.

Acoustic weapons

LRAD ( Long Range Acoustic Device )

An LRAD is a very powerful piezo loudspeaker that can be used as a weapon . On the one hand, it is used for civil or military communication over medium distances, for example to request help. With a maximum volume of 146 dB, it can also serve as a sound weapon that drives away people who step into the narrow beam angle with unprotected ears, but can also cause irreparable hearing damage. Apart from its military use, LRAD is mainly used on ships to ward off pirate attacks . The noises reach a distance of approx. 500–1000 m.

Risk of all acutely effective acoustic weapons: Overdosing (too high sound pressure level, too long exposure time) leads to permanent irreparable damage to the hearing ( noise-induced hearing loss , deafness ).

Shock grenade

In a broader sense, shock grenades can also be counted as acoustic weapons if they also have the effect of dazzling. The effects of infrasound weapons could not be confirmed in any published study.

Shock grenades (also known as stun grenades , also known as flash bangs ) are hand grenades, rifle grenades or ammunition fired with large-caliber shotguns that are temporarily shocked by a flash-bang sentence (usually a mixture of aluminum powder and potassium perchlorate) of the target person , Glare and hearing impairment (up to and including pop trauma ) should take the orientation (shock shock).

There is also use as a distraction. However, there is a high risk of fire starting here. Fire extinguishers must always be carried by the emergency services.

Shock grenades are mainly used to solve scenarios in which people can be threatened with firearms while they are being accessed. By igniting the grenade, the attention of the person to be arrested is briefly distracted and his or her orientation is temporarily restricted in order not to endanger police officers and hostages more than necessary. The foreseeable escape route of a person can also be mined with such lightning-bang sentences.

Typical dangers: If such a grenade detonates next to the head and neck area of ​​a person lying on the ground, serious injuries can result. In several cases, lifelong hearing impairment or deafness have also been documented. One case of a dead protester is attributed to a shock grenade.

Infrasound

Very low frequency sound penetrates most buildings and vehicles. The often repeated claim that infrasound can produce effects such as stomach pain, diarrhea or vomiting is unfounded.

Projectiles and projectiles

Rubber bullets

So-called rubber bullets are said to cause severe pain but not seriously injure the target person. This ammunition includes: Rubber Rocket Projectile , a fin-stabilized rubber bullet , stingball or Hornet's Nest , grenades and shotgun ammunition, which shoots a shot from rubber balls. Some of the projectiles contain irritants from the CS or OC group or are fired together with them.

Modified Claymore mines are also in use , which fire rubber bullets in a directional manner.

In addition to these existing hard rubber projectiles (Engl. Rubber bullet ) still exists steel ammunition which have a rubber coating ( rubber coated bullet and rubber jacketed bullet ).

Sand bullets

The sand bullets consist partly of compressed sand and should have a lower risk of injury than rubber bullets. As there have been repeated deaths from rubber bullets in the past, sand bullets could be used as an alternative.

Bean bag

Bean bags (also known as Power Punch ) are bullets that contain shot in a bag, usually made of nylon. These projectiles should transfer their force to the target on the body surface, but not penetrate the body. A person is intended to be knocked over or in pain, but not to sustain serious injury. Beanbags come in a wide variety of calibers , but they are mostly fired from shotguns.

One variation is the hydro-kinetic ammunition . Here the bag is no longer filled with shot, but with a liquid. This ammunition should not penetrate the body, even over shorter distances.

The manufacturers themselves state the following risks for all "non-lethal" kinetic ammunition: lacerations, dislocations, abrasions, broken ribs, concussion up to severe traumatic brain injury, loss of eyes, damage to organs under the surface of the skin (general), rupture of the heart, Kidneys or liver, internal bleeding and death.

Rock salt

There are ammunition for shotguns that contain rock salt instead of lead bullets . The grains of salt penetrate into the skin and possibly into deeper tissue; the salt is absorbed , which means that the wounds are usually very painful but not fatal. In addition, these usually heal without scarring.

Stun guns

Main article : Electro pulse weapon

Stun gun

Electric shock guns are known under their trade names Taser or the former manufacturer Stinger . With these weapons, two needles are fired, which ideally penetrate the victim's skin. Two thin cables that are connected to the weapon now emit a series of electric shocks intended to incapacitate the enemy. The range is several meters.

Electroshock projectile

The electric shock projectile is fired from a handgun. It is not intended to penetrate the target person's body, but it does give them a powerful electric shock. One example of such a projectile is the Wireless eXtended Range Electronic Projectile , which has been discontinued in production .

Shock Rounds are projectiles that are filled with piezoelectric material. They combine the risks of high-explosive projectiles and electric shock weapons.

Stun Gun / Stun Gun

A stun gun (stun gun in US parlance) has two electrodes with high open circuit voltages, whereby the average current output is low.

Under certain conditions, stun guns can be legally acquired in Austria and Germany.

Stun belt

A stun belt is a belt that is put on a person who needs to be kept under control. A high-voltage generator can be triggered via a radio remote control, which inflicts painful and paralyzing high-voltage impulses on the person wearing the belt . The weapon has already been used to discipline defendants in court, at least in the USA. Amnesty International reports that some of these devices are used in prisons for torture.

EMD security bracelet

An EMD safety bracelet ( Electro-Muscular Disruption Safety Bracelet ) transmits the personal data and the whereabouts of the wearer to a central point and can make them incapacitated by means of electrical impulses in response to a remote-controlled signal. Possible areas of application are the control of prisoner transports, flight security and various possible uses of border security.

Non-lethal radiation weapons

ADS (Active Denial System)

The Active Denial System is an anti-personnel microwave weapon. With higher radiation intensity and sufficient exposure time, microwave weapons are potentially fatal due to the heat applied to the skin.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ taz.de : Dam construction will be checked from October 29, 2014. Accessed December 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Helga Rietz: Attack on the ear | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . August 23, 2017, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed December 30, 2017]).
  3. ^ Nationaldefensemagazine.org: Peacekeeping Duties Bolster Demand for Kinder Weapons ( Memento December 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) , May 2000. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ btselem.org : Rubber-coated steel bullets - "rubber bullets" from January 1, 2014. Accessed December 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ Spiegel Online : Israel: Sand bullets should stop demonstrators from August 3, 2008. Accessed December 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ defense-update.com: ShockRounds Electrical Shock Ammunition . Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ amnesty.org : Document - USA: The stun belt - cranking up the cruelty ( Memento of February 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) . Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ The Washington Times : Want some torture with your peanuts? July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2014.

Web links

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