US aims to zap Kim’s missiles

THE US military is ready to launch microwave rockets that can fry the circuits of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.

B-52 bombers 1100km away can fire CHAMP missiles to disable Kim Jong-un’s nukes as they sit on the launch pad.

CHAMPs have been hailed as an effective non-lethal way of averting mass casualties if Mr Kim is about to fire.

They are taking centre stage in White House discussions over the US response to the growing threat from the hermit regime as it steps up its firepower, according to NBC.

North Korea has a rocket capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere in the US, sparking fears war on the Korean Peninsula is imminent.

CHAMPs stands for Counterelectronics High-power microwave Advanced Missile Project. The missiles were developed in 2009 and operationally tested in 2012.

They harness the power of HMP high power microwave technology to destroy an enemy’s weapons capabilities.

Senator Martin Heinrich, a former air force engineer, told NBC: “Think about when you put something in your microwave that has metal on it. You know how badly that goes? Imagine directing those microwaves at someone’s electronics.”

Mary Lou Robinson, Air Force Research Laboratory weapons development head, told NBC: “These ... microwaves are very effective at disrupting and possibly disabling electronic circuits.”

The US used the technology in Iraq and Afghanistan to disable drones.