Pentagon grants DHS permission to test heat ray weapon for potential use at border

Lance Cpl. Andrew M. Huff/US Marines Corps

The Pentagon has given the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a military-grade heat ray and develop tactics to potentially use it in operations at the southern US border, according to a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month and obtained by CNN.

The heat ray, officially known as the Active Denial System , is a nonlethal weapon that shoots an invisible beam of electromagnetic waves that can reach a little more than half a mile away, according to the US military.

The energy beam causes a burning sensation when it comes into contact with the human skin — which Pentagon officials have previously compared to feeling a blast of heat when opening a hot oven. Military officials have said the resulting “tingling effect” lasts between 10 and 15 minutes but also generates “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”

Deploying the heat ray at the US border would be an unprecedented step, even for the Trump administration, which has made border security and clamping down on immigration a top priority. The DHS request did not specify where or how the weapon would be tested and how it might eventually be used, but over the years, there have been internal discussions about potentially using it for crowd dispersal along the US-Mexico border, according to current and former Customs and Border Protection officials.

US officials had also considered deploying the system during moments of domestic unrest, including at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term when protests erupted over the murder of George Floyd, according to a former US official familiar with those discussions.

The memo authorizes the “temporary loan” of one ADS system for seven months, starting in September, and states that it “shall not be operated by DoW (Department of War) personnel,” appearing to absolve the Pentagon of any responsibility for how the directed-energy system may ultimately be deployed.

It also states that DHS is solely responsible for “system employment, use and development of tactics, techniques and procedures.” At the end of the seven-month loan period, DHS can submit an additional request for further use of the Pentagon system in border operations based on need, a defense official told CNN.

“CBP is continually evaluating new technologies, especially those that enhance operational effectiveness and strengthen mission capabilities,” a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

The Pentagon referred CNN to DHS when asked for comment.

The US military briefly deployed the system to Afghanistan nearly two decades ago but ultimately declined to use it during active combat operations. The US military also considered using the system for crowd control purposes at US facilities abroad where terrorist detainees were being held at the time but ultimately declined to employ it for that purpose as well, according to a source familiar with those previous internal considerations.

Customs and Border Protection officials have previously entertained the idea of using the system in areas where there’s a high concentration of illegal crossings. Border officials have occasionally discussed potentially using the system as a crowd dispersal tool, but it has never been deployed.

Officials ran into hurdles over legalities, use of force, effectiveness, and potential issues over sovereignty, particularly if the system was deployed on people in Mexico who had not yet crossed into the US. Chief among those concerns, however, was whether people could be harmed, either directly or indirectly, by the weapon.

“Even if they’re chasing people back to the river, you don’t want them to go in and drown,” a former CBP official told CNN. “For the cost, for the training and for the policies you’re going to create, is the juice worth the squeeze?”

El Centro sector, which covers around 70 miles along the US-Mexico border, evaluated the system several years ago, when Rodney Scott, who now serves as CBP commissioner, helmed that sector, according to a CBP official.

At the time, officials were discussing whether the system might help agents with an influx of illegal crossings along the nearby river by discouraging people from trying to cross in that area or pushing them to get out of the water.

One of the considerations at the time was whether the system might result in more rescues if people were incapacitated by the technology, the official said, though it’s unclear why it wasn’t deployed.

In 2018, prior to midterms, CBP officials also weighed using it against migrants, but then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen shot it down.

“The issue was treating immigrants and citizens like enemy combatants,” a former DHS official familiar with previous discussions about using the weapon against migrants told CNN. “Thematically, inhumane treatments typically get rejected.”

Some Border Patrol agents have more recently cast doubt over whether they need the tool at all amid low border crossings and an increase in personnel, according to another former CBP official.

下士安德鲁·M·赫夫/美国海军陆战队

据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）获得的一份由国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯上个月签署的备忘录显示，五角大楼已授权国土安全部测试军用级热射线，并制定可能将其用于美国南部边境行动的战术。

据美国军方称，热射线（正式名称为主动拒止系统）是一种非致命武器，它发射一束不可见的电磁波，射程可达半英里多远。

这种能量束接触人体皮肤时会产生灼烧感——五角大楼官员此前曾将其比作打开热烤箱时感受到的一股热流。军方官员表示，由此产生的“刺痛感”会持续10到15分钟，但同时也会产生“一种本能的、无法抗拒的逃离冲动”。

即使对于将边境安全和打击移民作为首要任务的特朗普政府而言，在美国边境部署热射线武器也是史无前例的举措。国土安全部的请求并未具体说明该武器将在何处、如何进行测试以及最终可能如何使用，但据现任和前任海关与边境保护局官员透露，多年来，内部一直在讨论可能将其用于美墨边境的驱散人群。

据一位熟悉相关讨论的美国前官员透露，美国官员也曾考虑在发生国内动乱时部署该系统，包括在唐纳德·特朗普总统第一任期结束时，当时因乔治·弗洛伊德被谋杀而爆发了抗议活动。

该备忘录授权从 9 月开始“临时借用”一套 ADS 系统七个月，并声明该系统“不得由美国陆军部人员操作”，这似乎免除了五角大楼对定向能系统最终如何部署的任何责任。

该文件还指出，国土安全部全权负责“系统的运用、使用以及战术、技术和程序的开发”。一位国防官员告诉CNN，在七个月的借用期结束后，国土安全部可以根据需要提交额外申请，要求在边境行动中进一步使用五角大楼的这套系统。

美国海关与边境保护局发言人在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示：“美国海关与边境保护局一直在评估新技术，特别是那些能够提高运营效率和加强任务能力的技术。”

五角大楼在被问及此事时，将CNN的问询转给了国土安全部。

近二十年前，美军曾短暂地将该系统部署到阿富汗，但最终决定不在实战中使用。据一位知情人士透露，美军当时也曾考虑在关押恐怖分子的海外美军设施中使用该系统进行人群控制，但最终也放弃了这一想法。

美国海关与边境保护局官员此前曾考虑在非法越境活动频繁的地区使用该系统。边境官员也偶尔讨论过将该系统用作人群驱散工具的可能性，但从未真正部署过。

官员们在合法性、武力使用、有效性以及潜在的主权问题上遇到了重重阻碍，尤其是在该系统被用于尚未进入美国的墨西哥境内人员时。然而，其中最主要的担忧是，这种武器是否会对人们造成直接或间接的伤害。

一位前美国海关与边境保护局官员告诉CNN：“即使他们追赶人们回到河边，你也不希望他们下水淹死。考虑到成本、培训和即将制定的政策，这样做值得吗？”

据美国海关与边境保护局 (CBP) 一位官员称，埃尔森特罗区（覆盖美墨边境约 70 英里）几年前曾对该系统进行过评估，当时现任 CBP 局长罗德尼·斯科特 (Rodney Scott) 负责该区。

当时，官员们正在讨论该系统是否能够帮助执法人员应对附近河流沿岸非法越境人数激增的问题，通过阻止人们试图从该地区越境或迫使他们离开水面来实现这一目标。

这位官员表示，当时考虑的因素之一是，如果人们因这项技术而失去行动能力，该系统是否能带来更多救援，但目前尚不清楚为什么该系统没有被部署。

2018 年中期选举前，美国海关与边境保护局官员也曾考虑用该措施对付移民，但当时的国土安全部长克斯特珍·尼尔森否决了这一提议。

一位曾参与讨论使用核武器对付移民的国土安全部前官员告诉CNN：“问题在于将移民和公民当作敌方战斗人员对待。从本质上讲，不人道的待遇通常会被拒绝。”

据另一位前美国海关与边境保护局官员称，最近一些边境巡逻人员对边境通行人数减少和人员增加的情况下是否还需要这种工具表示怀疑。