Sonic Weapons Ward off Pirate Attack

A couple of days ago there was an attack on a cruise ship, the Seabourn Spirit, by a group of "pirates" (I'm surprised they were not labeled terrorists). At first, I thought it interesting a group would be so bold as to attack a ship from such a small boat. Then, the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense.

What could the pirates have hoped to accomplished? Force the crew to stop the ship by threat of gunfire, then take control of the entire ship and either rob everyone or hold everyone hostage? Perhaps attempt to gain some publicity by conducting some sort of execution in front of the attracted media to serve some cause? Who knows.

Travelers on the ship reported gunfire and at least one explosion from a grenade fired from a grnade launcher. CNN reports:

The Seabourn Spirit had been bound for Kenya when it was attacked by pirates armed with grenade launchers and machine guns on Saturday about 100 miles (160 km) off Somalia's lawless coast.

Bob Meagher of Sydney, Australia, said he climbed out of bed and went to the door of his cabin shortly before 6 a.m. after hearing a commotion outside.

"I saw a white-hulled boat with men in it waving various things and shooting at the ship -- at that stage it appeared to be rifle fire," he told Australian radio.

"My wife said, 'Look, they're loading a bazooka,' which we later discovered was called an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launcher."

"There was a flash of flame and then a huge boom -- a terrible boom sound," he said, adding the grenade hit about 10 feet from where they were.

Other than the obvious questions of why the attack was attempted, a more disturbing question came to mind. What is a cruise ship doing with a sonic weapon? Again, from the CNN article:

The crew of a cruise ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia used a sonic weapon to help ward off the attackers, the Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line said Monday.

The sonic device, known as a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed for the military after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen as a way to keep operators of small boats from approaching U.S. warships.

So, here we have a practical application of a military device, although "non-lethal", which is also very likely in the hands of many other private and public places. Seems like an ideal crowd control device for police as well.

I guess my concern is how non-chalantly this is mentioned in the article as if it were a common item. A toaster it is not!

Perhaps more readers may want to find out what the Pentagon has been developing under the "non-lethal" weapons category. The military has developed microwave "non-lethal" weapons for crowd control.

Non-lethal weapons development is not relegated to the corporations having relationships with military projects, academia has long been used by the military as a source for basic R&D work. For example, there is the Non-lethal Technology Innovation Center, funded by the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD), with the following mission:

The Non-lethal Technology Innovation Center was created by a grant from the Joint Non-lethal Weapons Directorate to effect the next generation of NL capabilities by identifying and promoting the development of innovative concepts, materials and technologies within the academic community.

There even exist ethnic-specific weapons.

None of this is science fiction. It exists today!

The development of these weapons has been underway for quite some time and is now available for agencies outside the military.

What else is labeled as "non-lethal" and coming to a town near you? Keep your eyes open and ears perked for news of how those offering resistance are being treated. These may be the canaries in the coal mine. You will begin to see how non-lethal weapons may become as common-place, and who's use may become as "acceptible", as the stun guns used today.

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