U.S.-developed “humanitarian” weapons will only cause a "burning sensation on the skin"

The U.S. military has said it is developing a new non-lethal weapon which uses electromagnetic energy to cause a burning sensation on the skin and turn back enemy troops from long range. Officials said the "millimetre-wave" pulses, which might one day be fired from a dish-shaped device similar to a radar, could be mounted on military jeeps and possibly be used in peacekeeping and cases where innocent civilians are mixed with enemy troops. "In conflicts, targeted adversaries are expected to simply flee," the Marine Corps is quoted by Reuters as saying of the new weapon. After 10 years and $40 million in research by the corps and the Air Force, the Marines said at a briefing for reporters that pulses from the weapon travel at the speed of light to penetrate less than 1/64 of an inch into the skin, causing immediate discomfort like touching a hot light bulb.