The two volumes of the TEMPS (Transportable Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator) Final Report, dated August 1973 and prepared for the Defense Nuclear Agency by Physics International Company, provide a detailed technical overview of the design, construction, testing, and performance evaluation of a mobile high-voltage EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) simulator.
Volume I: System Overview and Technical Design
Volume I outlines the complete system and its major components:
Core Structure: The TEMPS system simulates a high-altitude nuclear EMP by using a horizontally mounted cylindrical wire cage antenna (30 feet in diameter, 1000 feet long) supported up to 20 meters above ground on a dielectric, guyed tower system. This is described as “a free standing guyed system to minimize site preparation and disturbance… fabricated from dielectric material… for high voltage insulation and for minimum disturbance of the EM fields produced”.
Pulse Generator: At the heart of the system is a bilateral Marx generator connected to peaking capacitors. These components produce a high-voltage pulse, described as greater than 6 MV with an 8-nanosecond rise time and a 300-nanosecond decay time. This pulse results in a radiated field exceeding 50 kV/m at 50 meters from the antenna.
Antenna Design: The antenna includes a biconical high-frequency launcher and a “late time antenna” section that behaves like a rod-to-plane transmission line, with matched resistive terminations at each end to minimize reflections. The wire cage configuration, consisting of 36 wires, was selected to optimize weight, wind loading, and electrical performance.
Field Testing: Testing occurred both at Camp Parks, California, and later at the Harry Diamond Laboratories site in Woodbridge, Virginia. Measurements confirmed expected performance characteristics including output pulse fidelity, rise time, and field strength uniformityADA013620.
Volume II: Appendices and Supporting Data
Volume II supplements the main report with detailed appendices:
Appendix A: Covers experimental modeling of antenna configurations and interactions with real ground, conducted by Stanford Research Institute. It evaluates tradeoffs between antenna impedance, reflection coefficients, and field uniformity. It concludes that a constant-impedance, cylindrical wire cage antenna with matched resistive loads offers the best performance over varying heights and site conditions.
Appendix B–G: Address component development and testing:
Capacitor and Marx generator switch testing
Evaluation of wire-wound resistors and their suitability under high-voltage pulse stress
Development and failure modes of various peaking capacitor configurations (e.g., solid dielectric, gas-graded, liquid-graded)
Inductance, prepulse, and jitter measurements critical for timing precision and waveform integrityADA013621
Together, the volumes document a high-fidelity, transportable EMP simulation system designed to replicate the effects of nuclear-induced electromagnetic pulses for vulnerability testing of military electronics. The design prioritizes transportability, precise pulse characteristics, and minimized interference from support structures.
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This post was published on June 8, 2025 3:14 pm
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