Tech & Tactics Tactics Warfare
The reality about EMPs and the US military
An EMP could disrupt U.S. military operations, but it’s no instant knockout. Here is what’s real, and what’s hype.
Kyle Gunn
Aug 15, 2025 3:26 PM EDT
Every time we post a video about drones, radios, satellites, autonomous weapons and anything with a circuit, there are always people in the comments who say something like “Worthless, an EMP will take it out.”
Electromagnetic pulses, or EMPs, have been part of doomsday scenarios for decades. They pop up in television, movies and video games with catastrophic and often unrealistic effects. While EMPs are very real, they’re not the magic wands that can bring an entire country and its military to its knees.
What is an EMP?
As the name implies, an electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic energy that can disrupt or damage electronics. Three phases make up an EMP, and there are three main types of EMP. First, the phases, and we’ll use their enlisted equivalents to help explain:
E1 – Like an actual E-1 that just showed up, this is high energy and capable of incredible destruction. This phase is rapid, measured in nanoseconds, and typically fries microelectronics like processors, avionics, radios, and anything with delicate circuitry that is sensitive to variations in power. The smaller and more efficient the device, the more vulnerable it is.
https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/us-military-emp-attack/
