Nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strikes could potentially crippling US electrical grids, communications, transportation and other critical infrastructure for months, experts warned.
William Forstchen, the bestselling author and EMP expert for the New York Times, discusses how and how Fox News Digital and the US and everyday Americans can prepare for the “existential threats” posed by attacks I did.
“This is a very real threat,” he said. “EMPs are generated when a small nuclear weapon, 40-60 kilotons, or about three times the size of a Hiroshima bomb, explodes 200 miles away in US space. It cascades on the surface of the Earth. Set up the discharge. It feeds millions of miles of wire that will become an antenna, and then sends it to the power grid, which overloads the grid and blows it away.”
Forstchen cited Congressional reports in 2002 and 2008, saying that if an EMP strike occurs, 80% to 90% of Americans will die in a year.
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Electromagnetic pulses are bursts of electromagnetic energy produced by nuclear explosions in the atmosphere and are believed to result in widespread damage to power lines, communications and electronic devices. (Ministry of Homeland Security)
At first glance, the EMP strike looks more like science fiction than the fact, but Forstchen said the possibility of such an attack was recognized decades ago.
“The EMP thread was first realized during a 1962 starfish prime high altitude nuclear test. What happened was that it was blown away about 500 miles from Hawaii,” he said. said. “They managed to get their system back within a few days, but what if it took a month, six months, a year, or five years to fix it?”
The late Peter Pry, a nuclear weapons expert and former staff director of the Congressional EMP Committee, agreed. Before his death in 2022, Pry warned that Kim Jung Un was a launch of a high-altitude ballistic missile and a test of North Korea's EMP capabilities against the United States.
“The car will be paralyzed,” Ply told Fox Business. Lou Dobbs tonight “Airplanes can fall from the sky. There's an explosion of natural gas pipelines, overload of nuclear reactors. People.”
Geomagnetic disturbances are temporary disturbances of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by solar wind shock waves and/or clouds of magnetic fields interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. (Ministry of Homeland Security)
The EMP Threat promoted President Donald Trump during his first term in 2020, publishing research with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“In the past few days, the Trump administration has once again spoken about Israel's iron dome, but we're in the US,” he said.
Forstchen shared three ways the US can prepare for potential EMP attacks.
Update the electric grid
Calling the current electric grid “outdated,” Forstchen argued that it should be renewed in the 21st century.
“It's scary to realize that almost all of our electricity is pumped into a system that was 30, 40 years old,” he said.
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Communications consultant and former energy spokesman Joseph J. Bretter wrote in a digital opinion article for Fox News that the electric network “deeply needs investment and modernization.”
“This is not just an infrastructure issue. It's an economic opportunity,” he wrote. “Unlocking enormous resources and unlocking problem-solving resolve towards the grid, the president was able to solve decades of challenges, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. .”
The rocket launched from southern Lebanon will be intercepted on August 23, 2024 by Israeli Iron Dome Air Defence System, located on the Galilee region of northern Israel. (Alaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)
Create an American iron dome
Like Israel, the United States needs an iron dome, Forstchen said.
“Ronald Reagan proposed it in the '80s. It was known as Star Wars,” he said. “But that was impossible back then, but today's technology and people like people. [Elon] Musk is very likely to be able to make one at a relatively minor cost compared to other ones. ”
Trump ordered the construction of an advanced next-generation missile defense shield to protect the United States from air attacks. In January he signed an executive order recruiting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses to plan to build an “Iron Doll” to protect Americans from the threat of missiles launched by foreign enemies. .
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In doing so, Trump continued his campaign promise to prioritize missile defense.
“By the next semester, we will build a big iron dome in our country,” Trump said. West Palm Beach Event June 14th.
Use these fixtures to keep you safe in emergencies. (istock)
Stockpiling emergency supplies
Forstchen encouraged people to prepare for potential threats by stocking up essentials.
“I urge all Americans to take this seriously and prepare a little. I'm not talking about turning your home into a fortress,” he said. “I say I have a month or two worth of emergency supplies on hand.”
As a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, Forstchen said the devastation that followed Hurricane Helen was “terrifying” and still left months of homelessness after the natural disaster.
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“And this is a small local event. Imagine it was the whole of the United States,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense for comment.
