Mind-Altering Microwaves:
Soviets Studying Invisible Ray
The Associated Press (AP)
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
November 22, 1976
A newly declassified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report says extensive
Soviet research into microwaves might lead to methods of causing disoriented
human behavior, nerve disorders, or even heart attacks.
“Soviet scientists are fully aware of the biological effects of the low-level mi-
crowave radiation which might have offensive weapons application,” says the re-
port, based on an analysis of experiments conducted in the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe.
According to the study, this research work “suggests the potential for the de-
velopment of a number of antipersonnel applications.”
Microwave beams are the electronic basis of radar and are widely used for re-
laying long-distance telephone calls. Other common sources of microwaves in-
clude television transmitters.
A copy of the study was provided by the agency to the Associated Press in re-
sponse to a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Pentagon agency
refused to release some portions of the study, saying they remain classified on na-
tional security grounds.
The report made no direct mention of the Soviet microwave bombardment of
the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, where despite strong American protests, the radia-
tion continues, though at reduced levels.
Up to now, the view most widely accepted among State Department officials
in Washington has been that the Soviets appear to be using the microwave beams
to foil sophisticated U.S. electronic intelligence-gathering equipment at the em-
bassy.
The State Department issued an administrative source on Nov. 12 declaring
Moscow “an unhealthy post”, but no link was officially drawn between this move
and the radiation situation. Department spokesmen insist that medical tests have
found no adverse health effects attributable to the microwaves.
The Soviets have denied beaming any radiation at the embassy, contending
that the microwaves are simply part of the normal background radiation found in
any major city.
The Pentagon agency’s report, distributed within the government last March,
said that one biological effect which could have anti-personnel uses is the phe-
nomenon known as “microwave hearing”.
“Sounds and possibly even words which appear to be originating intracra-
nially (within the head) can be induced by signal modulation at very low average
power densities,” the study said. It added that “combinations of frequencies and
other signal characteristics to produce other neurological effects may be feasible
in several years.”
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The report concluded that Soviet research in this area “has great potential for
development into a system for disorienting or disrupting the behavior patterns of
military or diplomatic personnel. It could be used equally as well as an interroga-
tion tool.”
The report said that along with microwave hearing, the Soviets have also stud-
ied various changes in body chemistry and functioning of the brain resulting from
exposure to microwaves and other frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
“One physiological effect which has been demonstrated is heart seizure,” the
report said. It said that this has been accomplished experimentally in frogs by
synchronizing the pulses of a microwave signal with the animals heart beat and
beaming the radiation at the chest area.
The document added that “a frequency probably could be found which would
provide sufficient penetration of the chest wall of humans to accomplish the same
effect” — heart attacks.
The report said that another potential antipersonnel use of microwaves could
be used to affect the blood-brain barrier, which regulates the exchange of vital
substances between brain cells and the circulatory system.
