The Pentagon has approved a temporary loan of a military heat ray weapon to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), allowing the agency to test it and develop tactics for possible use at the southern border. A memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorizes one Active Denial System for seven months, beginning in September. CNN obtained the memo.
The authorization does not set a location or describe a test plan. The request also leaves open how the system could eventually be used.
The memo says the system “shall not be operated by DoW (Department of War) personnel.” It places responsibility for the system’s employment and for developing its tactics and procedures with the agency.
A defense official said the agency may seek another period of use after the loan ends. That would require an additional request based on need.
The memo leaves the test site and methods open
The loan covers one system, rather than a wider transfer of equipment. The memo calls it a “temporary loan” and assigns the agency responsibility for “system employment, use and development of tactics, techniques and procedures.”
The request did not identify where officials intend to test the device. Nor did it describe how agents might use it in a border operation. Those decisions remain unspecified in the authorization.
The Pentagon referred questions to the agency when asked for comment. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency continues to evaluate technology for its work, but did not describe a testing plan.
The system is officially known as the Active Denial System. Its name describes the directed-energy device at the center of the loan.
The beam creates heat at the skin, according to military descriptions
The US military describes the system as nonlethal and says its invisible electromagnetic beam can reach a little more than half a mile. Contact with the beam causes a burning sensation on human skin.
Pentagon officials have compared that sensation to the burst of heat people feel when opening a hot oven. Military officials say the resulting “tingling effect” lasts between 10 and 15 minutes and produces “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”
A Marine Corps fact sheet says the system penetrates less than a millimeter into the skin, creating a heating sensation intended to make a targeted person flee without injury. The device’s description does not answer how it would be used in a crowded or hazardous area.
A caption accompanying an image of an Active Denial System from the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate identifies it as staged before a demonstration in Wellton, Arizona, in April 2017. That demonstration predates the new loan authorization.
Earlier border proposals raised river and sovereignty concerns
Customs and Border Protection officials have discussed using the system for crowd dispersal, but it has never been deployed at the border. Officials also considered whether it could deter people from crossing near a river.
That scenario raised concerns about people being incapacitated or pushed into the water and needing rescue. A former CBP official described the risk bluntly:
“Even if they're chasing people back to the river, you don't want them to go in and drown.”
Officials also encountered questions about legality, use of force and effectiveness. Sovereignty was another concern if the system were used on people in Mexico who had not crossed into the United States.
In 2018, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen rejected a proposal to use the system against migrants. The earlier discussions did not result in deployment.
Past deployments stopped short of combat or crowd-control use
The US military briefly deployed the system to Afghanistan, but ultimately did not use it in active combat. The system was deployed there in 2010, according to a report, and was not used.
Military officials also considered using it for crowd control at US facilities abroad where terrorist detainees were held. They decided against that use. Officials separately considered deploying the system during domestic unrest, including protests that followed the murder of George Floyd at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term.
A 2020 medical brief warned of possible injuries under extended exposure
Physicians for Human Rights said in a 2020 brief that body parts with less skin protection, including the eyes and face, could face injury under extended exposure. The group said the available data raised concerns.
“Testing on military volunteers identified several cases of skin burns, blisters, or prolonged pain… Capable of penetrating about 0.4 mm into the body, the electromagnetic waves could potentially access blood vessels, nerves, and glands.”
The brief described potential risks, while military materials characterize the system as nonlethal. The proposed border testing would bring the device into a new setting, where the memo does not identify its location or planned operating conditions.
CBP says it is assessing technology as the loan period runs
A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency evaluates new technologies “especially those that enhance operational effectiveness and strengthen mission capabilities.” The statement did not address the memo’s test plans.
At the end of the loan period, the agency can ask for continued use in border operations. A defense official said a further request would depend on need.
