Military warns EMP attack could wipe out America, 'democracy, world order'
Citing figures from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the report:
- 99 nuclear reactors would likely melt down without electricity to cool them.
- 4.1 million would be displaced from areas around the nuclear plants as the radioactive cloud spread.
- Military and commercial jets, such as those built by Airbus, could be degraded. "Alarmingly, aircraft designed to carry large numbers of people and sizable cargo are allowed to operate without certainty about their level of resilience."
- Bases would be cut off, making defense and counter-attacks impossible.
- Civil unrest would start in “hours.”
- Power and GPS could go dark. “An EMP would cause instantaneous and simultaneous loss of many technologies reliant on electrical power and computer circuit boards, such as cell phones and GPS devices.”
- “Failures may include long-term loss of electrical power (due to loss of emergency generators), sewage, fresh water, banking, landlines, cellular service, vehicles.” -18 months or more are required to replace key elements of the electric grid that would be damaged or knocked out.