Two US scholars from the congressionally mandated 2010 Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack make the case to protect the US from a potentially catastrophic nuclear EMP attack on the US by terrorists or rogue states.

William Radasky and Peter Vincent Pry point out that the EMP Commission report was a collaborative effort between “the Intelligence Community…the military services…the National Nuclear Security Administration laboratories…the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security,” all of which concluded that the US is unprepared for an EMP attack.

An EMP is a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy caused by the rapid acceleration of charged particles. An EMP can change the magnetic field in the earth’s atmosphere to disrupt electronic devices by a pulse flowing through electricity transmission lines, overloading and damaging transmission distribution centers.

An EMP attack would cause cascading failures in other critical infrastructures and a possible national blackout. These conclusions are based on tests showing that E1 high-EMP simulators couple well to electric grid distribution power lines and low-voltage cables. Radasky and Pry point out that “electronic control systems are effectively the Achilles’ heel of our power delivery network.”

China, North Korea, and Russia have targeted EMPs as the primary means of attack to be used as a credible deterrent threat against the US. The US. should develop a comprehensive ballistic missile defence system to address this threat. In addition, the country needs to harden its infrastructure and make it more resilient to withstand potential attacks, according to Jordan Harms, currently a member of the Young Leaders Programme at the Heritage Foundation.