The Air 
Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M., is establishing a High-Power Microwave Institute to help scientists there develop this emerging class of weapons. “High-power microwave technology can selectively degrade, disrupt, or destroy electronic systems, disperse aggressive crowds, and defeat improvised explosive devices at the speed of light, with little or no collateral effects,” writes AFRL’s Jeanne Dalley in a directorate release. The institute, essentially a high-performance computing center, will enable AFRL researchers to design HPM weapons virtually, significantly reducing developmental timelines and saving money in the process. Such computing tools will allow “the scientist to provide the inspiration, while the computer provides the perspiration,” states Dalley. This institute is the Air Force’s third high-performance computing center. It is made possible by an Office of the Secretary of Defense award.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.