MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian security services have been revealing great interest in novel non-lethal weapons (NLW), Vladimir Pirumov, Head of the research advisory board under the Russian Security Council, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Hard Sciences, told the Izvestia daily in an interview published on Tuesday.
In the modern world, non-lethal (temporarily neutralizing) weapons are considered most important anti-terror means.
According to Pirumov, the current inventory is yet too poor, but there are enough theoretical data to create plenty in a short time. The simplest NLW already in the inventory are light-and- sound grenades, sirens, and minor explosives, along with law enforcement means like gases, nets, electric shock, and KE assets. Pirumov also mentioned certain promising concepts, for example, sticking weapons.
"It can stop people and vehicles. A relatively new thing created in the 80s-90s is sticky foam rapidly polymerized in air. It acts like a sticky polymer straitjacket. There are also special slip compounds applied onto the ground to prevent the object from any rapid move," the expert said.
According to him, it is possible to deteriorate enemy hardware. "There is a special road-cover compound. In several hours after a vehicle passes the area, its hull simply crushes. There are metal-, plastic-, rubber-active compounds, etc. this impact yields about the same results as a bomb strike, but without noise and side-effects," Pirumov said.
He also said about good capabilities of so-called biotechnology weapons used to break enemy equipment. "Suffice it to 'leave behind' a little container with microbes, and all the electronic appliances go out of order in an hour," he said.
The Izvestia also reported on the prospects for meteorological, microwave, acoustic, psycho, and other kinds of NLW, and on the NLW experience of foreign armed forces.