The Israeli Ministry of Defense recently licensed ArmyTec, an Israel-based technology development advisory firm, to mass produce what they call “the Thunder Generator” for military use.  Based on a technology developed to scare birds away from crops, the Thunder Generator uses liquefied petroleum, cooking gas and air to deliver massive sonic shocks.

Much like the wall of speakers at a Butthole Surfers show, the Thunder Generator is disruptive at long ranges (30-100 meters) but likely fatal at the sub-10 meter range.

Developed and produced for the agricultural industry by PDT Agro, a small firm based in Herzliya, Israel, the system detonates a mixture of common liquefied petroleum (LPG), cooking gas and air to generate a series of loud, stunning shock waves.

Using a patented process involving Pulse Detonation Technology (PDT), the system feeds the gas-air mixture into one or more so-called impulse chambers or cannon barrels, where the burning fuel detonates and intensifies in force as it travels through the chamber, exiting in a rapid-fire succession of high-velocity shock bursts.

A small battery-powered control system – about twice the size of a pack of cigarettes – measures fuel pressure, temperature and flow rates while monitoring the continuous intake of the air-gas mixture.

According to company data, the system generates 60 to 100 bursts per minute, each traveling at about 2,000 meters per second and lasting up to 300 milliseconds.

The resulting shocks create a double deterrent to rioters and potential intruders, developers here say, by the extreme air pressure and sonic boom effect generated once the mixture propagates and expands through the air. One standard 12-kilogram LPG gas canister (retail cost: about $25) can produce up to 5,000 shock bursts.

Being a very cheap and simple weapons platform, how long will it take for this to go from active deployment in the field to something you can build as a weekend project with stuff from Home Depot?

[Via Defense News.]