Worldwide High-Altitude Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Simulators

The five decades since the discovery that the electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation at high altitude (HEMP) threatens the survivability of strategic military and civilian electronic systems saw development and construction worldwide of many large test facilities for simulating that threat. This paper describes simulators in three categories: guided wave, dipole, and hybrid. In 2002, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) published a compendium of technical information about 42 simulators in 14 countries using this classification system. This paper provides a summary of information in the compendium and describes some developments in the field since 2002.