In the trenchesPentagon testing "Taser grenades"

Published 10 March 2011

The Pentagon recently placed an order for a test batch of “Taser grenades,” a long-range electroshock projectile; the grenades, designed by Taser International under a $2.5 million contract, are a forty-millimeter Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) projectile that is intended to stick to a target and deliver a series of intense electric shocks, leaving them incapacitated; if tests are successful, HEMI could be ordered for rapid deployment to Afghanistan

M203 grenade launcher can deliver taser grenades // Source: wired.com

The Pentagon recently placed an order for a test batch of “Taser grenades,” a long-range electroshock projectile.

The grenades, designed by Taser International under a $2.5 million contract, are a forty-millimeter Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) projectile that is intended to stick to a target and deliver a series of intense electric shocks, leaving them incapacitated. The system is “wireless” and can send electricity to darts within 100 meters. This range is an improvement over previous prototypes which fired darts with trailing wires connected to a central unit.

HEMI rounds are currently set to deliver electricity for thirty seconds, much longer than other Tasers which only shock for five seconds. The duration of the shock can be adjusted to last for several minutes.

The grenades are self-contained units that can be fired from the under-barrel grenade launchers currently fitted for the U.S military’s assault rifles. The grenades can also be fired from the M32 six-shot grenade launcher.

Marine Corps Major General Richard Mills, the senior Marine commander in Afghanistan is actively exploring the use of nonlethal weapons and has specifically mentioned the Taser grenade.

The Marine Corps Times reports that the commander is considering equipping all Marines in Afghanistan with some form of nonlethal weapon like a Taser.

If tests are successful, HEMI could be ordered for rapid deployment to Afghanistan.