Air forced "Switch Off"

"Aber wir können die Lichter auch ausbomben. Wir Amerikaner machen das ja gerne für andere. In Deutschland und Japan im Zweiten Weltkrieg, jetzt vermutlich in Afghanistan." "But we know to bomb out the lights. The Americans like to do this for others. In Germany and Japan during the Second World War, now probably in Afghanistan." James Turrell in «Wir sind nicht fürs Tageslicht geschaffen», interview with the famous light artist in Zürich 2001 with www.weltwoche.ch

Graphitbomben (BLU-114/B), auch als "soft bombs" bezeichnet, explodieren kurz über dem Ziel und setzen unzählige Graphitfäden frei. Graphit ist elektrisch leitend, weswegen damit Kurzschlüsse erzeugt werden können. Während des Kosovo-Krieges hatte man Elektrizitätswerke in Serbien mit Graphitbomben beschossen, wodurch es zu Stromausfällen in großen Bereichen kam. Solche Black-out Bomben wurden erstmals im Irakkrieg 1991 verwandt. The BLU-114/B is a special-purpose munition for attacking electrical power infrastructure. Although very little is known about this highly classified weapon, reportedly it functions by dispensing a number of submunitions which in turn disperse large numbers of chemically treated carbon graphite filaments which short-circuit electrical power distribution equipment such as transformers and switching stations. The weapon is sometimes referred to as a "soft bomb" since its effects are largely confined to the targetted electrical power facility, with minimal risk of collateral damage. fas.org

Serbia/Kosovo

Military Analysis Network CBU-94 "Blackout Bomb" and BLU-114/B "Soft-Bomb"
Diagram from The New York Times, May 4, 1999
IPPNW-Ärzte warnen vor der Gefährdung der medizinischen Versorgung 4.Mai 1999
CNN Serbia plunges into darkness after NATO raid May 8, 1999
BBC High-tech war in Kosovo May 8, 1999
Indian Express (Bombay) 1999 G-bomb -- Secret weapon sees the light of day
Serbia Info Aggressor attacked power system again May 14, 1999
graphite bombs in Serbia (two slides)
Village Voice The Soft Bomb, January 8 - 14, 2003
BBC Fact file: Blackout bombs 19 March, 2003
Virilio's Orbital Warfare (interview mentions graphite bombs)

Graphite bomb - fibers that cause damage to power lines

blackout bombs in Iraq

Guinnes World Records: Earliest Use Of a Graphite Bomb (1991) BLU-114/B "Graphite bomb" used by US against Iraq. Disables 85% of Iraqs electrical capacity. "Most destructive non lethal weapon". (unless you count all the deaths due to lack of electrical lighting, heating, clean water pumping..) GWR 2003 p160

Basler Zeitung Messageboard THE IMPACTS OF THE ELECTRICITY BLACKOUT IN IRAQ (2003)

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E-Bombs

Die E-Bombe soll mit einem für das Auge unsichtbaren nur wenige Nanosekunden dauernden Impuls von mehreren Gigawatt Leistung wie bei einem Blitzschlag Mikrochips in der Kommandozentrale des Gegners außer Kraft setzen. Je nach Leistung und Frequenz der Waffe sowie ihrer Distanz zum Ziel haben Militärs mögliche Wirkungen auf die Elektronik als die vier "D" beschrieben: "Deny, disrupt, damage, destroy." Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and High Powered Microwave (HMP) Weapons offer a significant capability against electronic equipment susceptible to damage by transient power surges. This weapon generates a very short, intense energy pulse producing a transient surge of thousands of volts that kills semiconductor devices. The conventional EMP and HMP weapons can disable non-shielded electronic devices including practically any modern electronic device within the effective range of the weapon.