1. What Happened? Operation Venezuela

On the morning of January 3, 2026, US special forces conducted a raid on the Fuerte Tiuna military complex in Caracas. As a result of the operation, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured. But what makes this operation unique is that Venezuela's Russian and Chinese-made air defense systems none of them can shootwas.

Trump, In an interview with the New York Post he said:

"They couldn't fire their rockets at all. There were Russian and Chinese rockets, but they couldn't fire a single one. We showed up, they pushed the buttons and nothing worked."

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez called on the USA to visit his country. "weapons laboratory" accused him of using it as a According to Al Jazeera news, 47 Venezuelan soldiers and 32 Cuban guards lost their lives during the operation.

So what really happened? What the guards said is quite striking:

2. What is "Soft-Kill"? New Generation War Concept

Traditional warfare is based on physically destroying the target: you blow up a tank, you shoot down a plane. But modern electronic warfare takes a different approach: "Soft-Kill" (Soft Destruction).

In Soft-Kill, the target's physical integrity is not compromised. The tank can still move, the engine is running. However:

• 🎯 Fire control computer — Burnt, cannot lock target
• 📡 Radar system — Disabled, cannot see the enemy
• 🔗 Communication systems — Not working, chain of command broken
• 🛡️ IFF (Identification of Friend and Foe) — Defective, afraid to hit his own troops

The biggest advantage of this approach: Risk of civilian casualties is minimal. You can neutralize a military facility in the middle of a city without damaging the surrounding buildings. This is exactly what was seen in the Venezuela operation.

3. Historical Origin: From Starfish Prime to Today

The story of HPM weapons dates back to 1962, during the most tense period of the Cold War.

July 9, 1962 — USA, over the Pacific Ocean, at an altitude of 400 km "Starfish Prime" carried out the nuclear test named. This 1.4 megaton explosion created an unexpected side effect:

This event Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) It was the first major evidence of its impact. The nuclear explosion created a huge electromagnetic wave that destroyed electronic devices hundreds of kilometers away.

Throughout the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviets explored ways to use this effect as a weapon. However, the fact that they required a nuclear explosion made these weapons impractical. Modern engineering achieves the same effect non nuclear managed to produce it using different methods.

4. How Do HPM Weapons Work?

The "hit power" of an HPM weapon is determined not by the weight of the bullet but by the bullet it creates. Electric Field Intensity (V/m) and Energy Density (J/cm²) It is measured by . The basic principle is this:

This equation tells us: When the distance doubles, the power reaching the target one quarter falls (Inverse Square Law). For this reason, HPM weapons are generally effective at short-medium range.

4.1. Entry of Energy to the Target: Front-Door vs Back-Door

For microwave energy to damage electronic systems, it must first get inside. There are two main ways:

According to James Benford's IEEE studies, high frequency waves (short wavelength) can penetrate even through very small openings. Therefore, modern military systems, electromagnetic sealing (EMI Shielding) He is very meticulous about it.

5. Hardware Architecture: How to Produce Gigawatts?

An HPM weapon is not a simple radar. He is a "pulsed power" machine. Mains electricity cannot power this weapon — the energy must first be stored, compressed, and released in an instant.

5.1. Marx Generator: Voltage Multiplier

At the heart of the system Marx Generator is available. The working principle is surprisingly simple:

1. Charging Phase: hundreds of capacitors parallel is charged as. Each is loaded up to 50 kV.
2. Trigger: The "Spark Gap" switches close simultaneously.
3. Discharge Phase: Capacitors suddenly series becomes. 100 pieces of 50 kV capacitors = 5 Million Volts!

5.2. Microwave Sources: Vircator and Magnetron

The huge voltage from the Marx generator to microwave source feeds. There are two main technologies:

Vircator (Virtual Cathode Oscillator)accelerates the electron beam towards an anode. Electrons pass through the anode and form a "virtual cathode", which oscillates back and forth, producing microwaves. It is simple and cheap, but inefficient.

Relativistic Magnetron It is a giant and much more powerful version of the microwave oven in your kitchen. Electrons rotating under a magnetic field produce microwaves in resonance cavities. THOR system Modern weapons such as prefer this technology.

6. THOR: An Operational HPM System

AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) developed by THOR (Tactical High-power Operational Responder)is the most concrete example of HPM technology.

According to the news of The War Zone, In April 2023, THOR was successfully tested against a swarm of drones at Kirtland Air Force Base. The system uses a wide beam multiple drones at the same time was able to neutralize it.

Key features of THOR:

• Fits in a standard 20 ft container (transportable by C-130)
• Operates on mains electricity ("wall plug" operation)
• Video game-like user interface
• Lightning-fast, silent shooting
• Unlimited "ammunition" (as long as there is electricity)

7. What Was Used in Venezuela? Possible Scenarios

What Trump calls the "Discombobulator" is probably not a single weapon, combination of multiple technologies. According to analysis by Gulf News possible ingredients:

Brussels-based military analyst Elijah Magnier, In a statement to Al Jazeera he said:

"These terms appear to be used as political, rather than technical, labels. The most plausible view is that this is not a new device but a combination of known non-kinetic tools."

8. Thermodynamic Constraints: Is Unlimited Power Possible?

No matter how powerful HPM weapons are, from the laws of thermodynamics They cannot escape. This is the most critical engineering challenge of the system.

Let's do a simple calculation:

To shed this massive heat:

• Active cooling: Liquid cooling systems (heavy and complex)
• Pulse operation: Short shots, long cooldowns
• Thermal mass: Materials that temporarily store heat

For this reason HPM weapons are generally very short pulses It works in (microseconds-milliseconds). Continuous fire is not possible.

9. Protection: Electromagnetic Shield

Is it possible to protect against HPM weapons? Yes, but it's costly and complicated.

Faraday Cage Principle

All electronic systems are enclosed in a conductive cage. External electromagnetic fields are absorbed by this cage and cannot reach the inside. However:

• Every cable entry, vent hole is a potential weak spot
• Antennas must be exposed to the outside by definition
• Weight and cost increase significantly

Shielding Effectiveness

It is measured in decibels (dB). Typical values:

10. Looking to the Future: Electromagnetic Spectrum Domination

The "Discombobulator" project — whatever its name — opens a new page in the evolution of warfare. The question is no longer: "How can we blow up the enemy?" The question is: "How do we turn off the enemy's electronic brain?"

The Venezuela operation may be a preview of this future. A country's defense system was destroyed without a single shot being fired or a single building destroyed. This is the new face of war.