The Active Denial System is now being shopped around for use on Americans.  Despite past assurances that this device would be used only in military situations, the DHS is now ready to use it on its own citizens.

The ADS will eventually also be available to home owners to protect themselves.

Burglars break into an apartment, hoping to pick up some expensive electronics or jewelry. But they’re out again, empty-handed, within seconds, howling with pain and surprise. They’ve been driven back by waves of intolerable heat: Entering the apartment is like stepping into a furnace. It’s the Active Denial System, or ADS, at work, the ultimate in home protection … among other uses.

Also known as the “pain beam,” ADS is a revolutionary non-lethal weapon that uses microwaves to cause burning pain without injury. The 95-GHz waves only penetrate a fraction of an inch, heating the outer surface of the target’s skin. According to the Air Force, nobody can tolerate the beam for more than five seconds, and improvised protection such as wrapping yourself in wet towels or tin foil is useless.

Wait, there’s more.  There’s even handheld versions that could be available soon.

Mike Booen, Raytheon’s vice president of directed energy weapons, says the handheld version could progress rapidly if the demand is there. So far funding has only amounted to $2.5 million (compared to $100 million on the military version), and more money would speed the process of getting it into the field. Such a device might be a separate unit or might be mounted under a rifle.

Booen says the smaller system may fire short pulses rather than a continuous beam due to power limitations. Beam diameter will be much smaller than the Hummer-mounted version — just a few inches, instead of six feet. But in tests, even one square inch of exposure produced the “repel effect,” forcing the subject to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

Yeah, this won’t ever be abused.  See all recent news reports on tasers to see just how this won’t ever get abused.