Overview
- CNN, citing unnamed sources, reports the government has been testing a backpack‑sized device for more than a year that generates pulsed radio waves.
- Sources say the equipment contains some Russian components yet is not wholly of Russian manufacture and could fit in a standard backpack.
- Accounts differ on how it was acquired, with CNN describing a DHS purchase using Pentagon funds for an eight‑figure sum and other reporting suggesting a special‑operations seizure.
- Investigators are examining whether the device relates to dozens of unexplained cases, while some U.S. officials remain skeptical and the CIA declined to comment.
- The reporting contrasts with a 2023 intelligence assessment that found a directed‑energy attack very unlikely and a 2024 NIH study that detected no substantial brain injury in affected personnel.