Non-Lethal Weapons |
Non-Lethal Weapons are defined as "weapons, devices and munitions that are explicitly designed and primarily employed to
incapacitate targeted personnel or materiel immediately, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel,
and undesired damage to property in the targeted areas or environment.
Non-lethal weapons are intended to have reversible effects on personnel or materiel."
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— JROCM 060-09, Initial Capabilities Document for Counter Personnel Joint Non-Lethal Effects and Initial Capabilities Document Material Joint Non-Lethal Effects
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Current Non-Lethal Weapons
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Current non-lethal weapons are fielded and in use.
A number of non-lethal weapons are currently being fielded to give our men and women in uniform alternatives between “shouting and shooting”,
while reducing the risk of fatalities and permanent injury to non-combatants.
These devices have been and continue to be extremely valuable to troops involved in current operations.
Non-lethal capabilities are available for use in a variety of conflict scenarios, from humanitarian and peace operations to combat operations.
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Developing Non-Lethal Weapons
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Developing non-lethal weapons include prototype and developmental non-lethal weapons.
Prototype non-lethal weapons have completed development, been produced in limited quantities and no fielding decision has been made.
Developmental non-lethal weapons require technological or other improvements prior to production approval and are typically a
Service-led program of record with a technical readiness level of 5 or higher.
Anticipated fielding dates are provided, but are subject to change and should not be used for acquisition or resource planning.
The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program is sponsoring several Service-led acquisition programs.
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Future Non-Lethal Weapons
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Future non-lethal weapons are in the conceptual stage and are ideas or concepts that can support exercises and modeling and simulation.
They typically denote a pre-acquisition science and technology project with a technical readiness level of 4 or less.
Conceptual capabilities do not currently exist,
but are potential technologies that could be developed to satisfy a non-lethal requirement in the near future.
Science and technology research and development is vital to the development of the next generation of non-lethal weapons.
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