Countries develop Sonic Weapons, the silent weapons used in counter-terrorist and crowd control settings

Sonic weapons employ extremely high-power sound waves  to disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation. This is usually sufficient to incapacitate a person. Less powerful sound waves can cause humans to experience nausea or discomfort. The use of these frequencies to incapacitate persons has occurred both in counter-terrorist and crowd control settings.

It is suspected that a “sonic device” used in Cuba in 2016 and 2017 has caused health problems, including hearing loss, in government employees at the US and Canadian embassies in Havana. The US State Department claims that the “attacks” started in autumn 2016 and ended in April this year and had affected at least 16 individuals. The US believes sophisticated devices that operated outside the range of audible sound were deployed either inside or outside diplomats’ residences in Havana.

Officials said that the symptoms, including hearing loss, headaches and loss of balance, appeared to be the result of sophisticated devices operating outside the range of audible sound. Neither device nor any perpetrator has been discovered, however. Cuba has denied what would be an unprecedented breach of obligation to protect foreign diplomats, and not to blast them with acoustic energy.

At the same time, CNN also posits, “The sophistication of the attack has led U.S. officials to suspect a third country is involved, perhaps seeking payback against the United States and Canada or to drive a wedge between those countries and Cuba,” raising the possibility of operatives from Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela, or Iran.

The Israeli army has a device known as “the Screamer” that causes nausea and dizziness, according to NPR. American law enforcement officials have used sound cannons to control crowds in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and during the G20 meetings in Pittsburgh. The BBC has reported about cruise ships that use a military-grade sonic weapon to repel Somali pirates. Malls in the UK have used high-frequency sound — inaudible to most people over the age of 20 — to discourage teenagers intent on loitering.

China has developed the world’s first portable sonic gun for riot control, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said. The Chinese government launched the sonic weapon programme in 2017 and its conclusion is unlikely to be related to the months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong.