Military Technology 06/2021

THEME: Homeland Security MT 6/2021 · 29 There are many ways to define Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW). One family of terms covers the lethality part: Non-Lethal, Less Lethal, Less-Than Lethal, Sub-Lethal. Another family deals with the tools: Weapons, Effectors, Capabilities, Technologies. Yet another, more recent, all-­ embracing definition is ‘Intermediate Force Capabilities’. Behind all those different terms, the core concept is the requirement to incapaci- tate personnel with minimal risk of causing undesired fatalities or per- manent injury. It should not take a rocket scientist to understand that minimal risk doesn’t mean zero-probability, though often politicians, media and the general public profess not to understand it. In many in- stances, the amount of energy required to achieve a disabling effect is sometimes not very far from the potentially dangerous level capable of causing injuries. Additionally, as the human body is not a simple tar- get, and as the tactical situations can vary enormously, there is no easy way to predict, with high levels of confidence, whether the effect will always fall into the required non-lethal bracket. While the much-sought zero probability of causing undesired effect is, technically speaking, im- possible to achieve, these weapons/capabilities do have a significantly reduced chance of causing severe injury or death, compared with tra- ditional firearms. Massimo Annati Non-Lethal Solutions and Options for Security Forces Most crowd control is still based on traditional baton and shield equipment. However, more technologically- advanced solutions enable longer stand-off distances, thereby reducing risks on both sides. (Photo: USMC) f