Sound guns on demonstrators

The Ministry of Internal Affairs purchases "systems of non -lethal acoustic impact" to combat order violators

Police in Canada demonstrates the LRAD system. Photo: Mike Cassese / Reuters

The Ministry of the Interior through the public procurement website announced a competition for the supply of "systems of non -lethal acoustic impact on the trailer." The initial contract price is 5,100,000 rubles.

Judging by the auction documentation, the product is intended for "creating certain behavioral reactions in law enforcement officers by remotely forming infranisic frequency oscillations that affect the central nervous system."

It is planned to use it to ensure “non -liberal impact on law enforcement and extremist persons”, while the application is asked to ensure “security for the health of the operator and personnel located near the system during its operation”.

The principle of operation of such a weapon is a piercing sound (about 150 dB, in a particular MVD competition the necessary power is from 20 to 120 dB, comparable to the noise of the engines of a reactive aircraft), which is intolerant of a person, causing dizziness and nausea, which freely stops an unchiring crowd. Critics claim that the use of such systems can cause severe damage to the internal organs. The sound gun, mounted by car, is mobile and can be used promptly in the event of an emergency.

Similar systems of non -lethal weapons are not an innovation: they have long been invented and tested in real conditions. So, Israel used the Tsaak system (“Scream”, in English sources - Scream) to stop the riots of Palestinians in the Kalandia area in the northern part of Jerusalem.

Its marine analogue of LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device - Acestic Foundation Acourse) was tested on ships during passages in dangerous waters off the coast of Somali.

Acoustic guns were used in the dispersal of anti -government demonstrations in Georgia in 2007.

The LRAD system itself was created by American Technology Corporation in 2000 to protect against attacks by terrorists, pirates and dispersal of demonstrations. In the United States, LRAD's tools were used by the police only a few times for its intended purpose - to disperse protests. The first such case was recorded in Pitsburg in 2009, during a meeting at the highest level of G20. The second time this gun was used in the same Pitsburg during the Superbowl 2011 Cup.

After that, the LRAD device was used several times in different places, but on a smaller scale. Back in May, information appeared on the test of the domestic system of non-liberal non-linear-parametric acoustic effects “whisper”. It is a shield for a law enforcement officer in which the emitter of infranial -frequency fluctuations is mounted, which allows you to effectively localize the riots, creating a sound barrier and while remaining safe for people.

It was reported that the first five sets (1,513,384 rubles 57 kopecks per piece) purchased the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Center for Engineering and Technical Support of Internal Troops.

“In the systems of acoustic exposure, the noise of the low -frequency spectrum is used, a person is completely lost in space, weakens, and can fall to the ground. They are quite widely used in the United States, ”Irina Borogan, deputy editor of the Agency.ru portal, told Novaya Gazeta. “The current purchase of such an expensive system is the continuation of the state program launched by President Dmitry Medvedev, in which separate budgets for the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were allocated for the purchase of special equipment to combat extremism.”

The program for the purchase of special equipment was adopted back in 2008, after the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to counteract extremism was created on the basis of the Department of Combat and Terrorism. The program was provided until 2011, since then it has been extended several times. In its framework, in recent years, various types of equipment and special equipment have been equipped with various departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: riot police, Sobr, bought special buses for the transportation of riot police, headquarters minibuses equipped with circular video surveillance cameras, as well as vodtes.