EMP Weapons Expose PRC Military Vulnerability

Source Link

In a recent analysis published by The Jamestown Foundation titled “EMP Weapons Expose PRC Military Vulnerability,” Guermantes Lailari, Yu-cheng Chen, and Tin Pak assess how electromagnetic pulse weapons expose critical vulnerabilities in the People’s Liberation Army’s increasingly informatized force structure. The authors argue that EMP capabilities have moved “from theory to reality” and now provide a speed-of-light, non-kinetic “electronics-kill” option capable of disabling drone swarms, missiles, and command networks at scale.

Chinese military and state-affiliated scientists openly acknowledge doubts about the ability to fully harden systems against multi-vector EMP threats, even as the PLA deepens its dependence on integrated digital “kill webs.” In a Taiwan contingency, the authors conclude that EMP weapons could disrupt early PLA attack phases while also threatening civilian infrastructure that underwrites Chinese military power.

EMP weapons deliver pulses of radiation that induce electrical charges in conductive materials, which can disable or destroy electronic systems… non-nuclear EMPs are more targeted, with a narrower range, and focus on specific frequency bands… EMP weapons are rapidly moving from theory to reality… the importance of EMP weapons as a speed-of-light, non-kinetic “electronics-kill” (以电能为主要“弹药”) option… vulnerabilities to EMPs continue to grow.