Russia,
China and many European states are
seen as having the know-how to
make basic microwave weapons that
can debilitate, sow noise or even
kill. Advanced powers, experts
say, might accomplish more nuanced
aims such as beaming spoken words
into people’s heads. Only
intelligence agencies know which
nations actually possess and use
such unfamiliar arms.
The basic
weapon might look like a satellite
dish. In theory, such a device
might be hand-held or mounted in a
van, car, boat or helicopter.
Microwave arms are seen as
typically working over relatively
short distances — across the
length of a few rooms or blocks.
High-powered ones might be able to
fire beams across several football
fields, or even for several
miles.
The episode in
Cuba
The
Soviet collapse in 1991 cut
Russia’s main ties to Cuba, a
longtime ally just 90 miles from
the United States. The
shaky economy forced Moscow to
stop providing Havana with large
amounts of oil and other aid.
Vladimir
Putin, as Russia’s president and
prime minister, sought to recover the
economic, political and strategic
clout that the Soviets had lost.
In December 2000, months after the
start of his first presidential
term, Mr. Putin flew to
the island nation. It was
the first visit by a Soviet or
Russian leader since the Cold
War.
He also
sought to resurrect Soviet work on
psychoactive arms. In 2012, he declared that
Russia would pursue “new
instruments for achieving
political and strategic goals,”
including psychophysical weapons.
In July
2014, Mr. Putin again visited
Cuba. This time he brought a gift
— the cancellation of some $30 billion in
Cuban debt. The two nations signed
a dozen accords.
A
Russian spy ship, Viktor Leonov,
docked in Havana on
the eve of the beginning of
reconciliation talks between Cuba
and the United States in early
2015, and
did so again in
subsequent years. Moscow and
Havana grew so close that in late
2016, the two nations signed
a sweeping pact on
defense and technology
cooperation.