U.S. tests directed-energy device potentially linked to Havana Syndrome

"Since 2015, more than 1,000 U.S. government personnel working across the world have reported symptoms linked to Havana Syndrome, an acute illness marked by sudden headache, nausea, and the hearing of loud sounds, akin to swarming cicadas. The cause of the illness, officially called "anomalous health episodes," remains a mystery. But some U.S. government workers and researchers have long alleged that the cases were caused by foreign adversaries using some type of "directed-energy" weapon, possibly firing pulsed radio waves, against American personnel."

"U.S. intelligence agencies have generally disagreed. In 2025, the National Intelligence Council released a report stating that most agencies found it "very unlikely" that a foreign adversary was responsible for the cases or had developed a novel weapon capable of causing such effects. But now, a new report from CNN suggests the U.S. has acquired a device that "some investigators" believe could explain some of the cases, though there's still no definitive proof regarding who or what caused the incidents."

"The report states that the Defense Department has spent a year experimenting with a device that produces pulsed radio waves, reportedly purchased near the end of the Biden administration by a division of the Department of Homeland Security for an eight-figure sum during an undercover operation. An anonymous source told CNN that the device could fit in a backpack and "contains Russian components." One of the first cases was reported in Havana, Cuba, in 2017. The victim, if it indeed was an attack, was a U.S. Foreign Service officer who was living in a quiet Havana neighborhood among other American personnel. One night, she was cleaning her kitchen. If it had been daytime, her kitchen window would have offered a view of a booth outside where C"

Since 2015, more than 1,000 U.S. government personnel worldwide have reported symptoms linked to Havana Syndrome, an acute illness with sudden headache, nausea, and perceived loud sounds like swarming cicadas. The cause remains unknown. Some U.S. workers and researchers allege the incidents were caused by foreign adversaries using directed-energy weapons, possibly pulsed radio waves. U.S. intelligence agencies have largely disagreed; in 2025 the National Intelligence Council said most agencies found it very unlikely that a foreign adversary or a novel weapon caused the effects. U.S. authorities obtained a pulsed-radio-wave device reportedly bought in an undercover operation; investigators lack consensus on its connection to the cases.

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