Time for an EMP Recognition Day

Conn Carroll / March 23, 2010

As we mentioned earlier this morning, today is the 27th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) speech; the speech that paved the way for our nation’s successful missile defense program. However, America faces another threat, one that requires Congress’s immediate attention: an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. Heritage fellow Jen McNeill makes the case for raising recognition of this new threat by making March 23rd EMP Recognition Day:

The likelihood of an EMP attack is disconcerting. Nearly 30 countries currently possess ballistic missile capabilities. Indeed, some have extensive knowledge of EMP and its effects. North Korea currently possesses a large arsenal of missiles and has been publicly testing its ballistic weapons. It has also been reported that Russian scientists have worked with North Korea on developing an EMP weapon. Countries and non-state actors are also exploring improvised or non-nuclear EMPs as a means of harnessing the destructive power of EMP without the need for missile capabilities. EMP has even been seen to occur naturally during a solar flare event (the last of which happened in the late 1800s). (more…)