Conflict & Security
Pentagon authorizes DHS to test heat ray weapon for potential border use
October 21, 2026 at 01:58 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 4 hours
The Pentagon has granted the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a nonlethal heat ray weapon for potential operations at the southern US border.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo authorizing the temporary seven-month loan of one Active Denial System to the Department of Homeland Security starting in September.
- The Active Denial System fires an invisible electromagnetic beam that causes a burning sensation and an instinctive urge to flee, lasting 10 to 15 minutes.
- A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency continually evaluates new technologies to enhance operational effectiveness and strengthen mission capabilities.
- A former DHS official said earlier proposals to use the weapon against migrants were rejected over concerns that treating immigrants like enemy combatants was inhumane.