Overview
- DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations clandestinely acquired the device in the final weeks of the Biden administration using Defense Department funding reported to exceed eight figures.
- Sources describe the system as backpack‑sized and capable of emitting pulsed radio‑frequency energy, with components of Russian origin.
- The Pentagon has tested the device for more than a year and briefed congressional intelligence committees on initial findings last year.
- House Homeland Security GOP leaders sent Secretary Kristi Noem a formal letter seeking the procurement rationale, price, test results, and other details, requesting a response by Jan. 30.
- U.S. intelligence reviews have largely deemed foreign responsibility very unlikely, though two agencies now see a roughly even chance such a device exists, and ODNI’s follow‑up review has yet to be released.