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Norway’s Pulsed-Energy Test Raises U.S. Scrutiny of Havana Syndrome Device

Norway’s Pulsed-Energy Test Raises U.S. Scrutiny of Havana Syndrome Device
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A secret experiment in Norway in which a government scientist built and tested a pulsed‑energy machine on himself in 2024 left him with neurological symptoms similar to “Havana Syndrome” and triggered high‑level U.S. scrutiny of the device and its implications for the long‑running mystery illness.washingtonpost +1 Norwegian authorities quietly notified the CIA, prompting at least two visits to Norway by Pentagon and White House officials, according to people familiar with the matter.reuters

The researcher, described in reports as a government scientist who had been skeptical that such weapons could damage the human brain, constructed a microwave or radio‑frequency pulse generator and exposed himself under controlled conditions.washingtonpost He subsequently developed acute symptoms resembling those reported by U.S. diplomats and spies since 2016, including head pressure and cognitive issues, though officials stressed the test did not prove that American personnel had been targeted by a foreign adversary.washingtonpost +1

What the Norway Test Revealed — and What It Didn’t

U.S. officials reviewed data from the Norwegian experiment as part of a broader effort to understand whether directed‑energy devices can plausibly account for so‑called “anomalous health incidents” affecting more than 1,500 American officials worldwide since the first cluster in Havana nearly a decade ago.washingtonpost +1 People briefed on the Norway case said it showed that a compact pulsed‑energy device could induce neurological symptoms in at least one human subject, but the findings fell short of establishing how, where or by whom such technology might have been used operationally against U.S. personnel.washingtonpost +1

The incident unfolded against a backdrop of conflicting scientific and intelligence assessments. A 2020 National Academies report had already judged pulsed radio‑frequency (microwave) energy a “plausible” mechanism for some cases,turkiyetoday and a 2022 expert panel convened by U.S. intelligence similarly found directed energy could explain a small subset of incidents.telegrafi Yet a multi‑agency intelligence review released in 2023 and reaffirmed in 2025 concluded it was “very unlikely” that a foreign power was behind most reported Havana Syndrome cases, pointing instead to medical, environmental and other mundane explanations.washingtonpost

U.S. Tests on a Suspected Device Deepen Policy Split

The Norwegian experiment surfaced just weeks after revelations that the U.S. government had quietly acquired a portable, backpack‑sized device in late 2024 that some investigators suspect could reproduce Havana‑like symptoms.the-express That unit, reportedly purchased via a covert operation by Homeland Security investigators using Pentagon funds “exceeding eight figures,” contains components of Russian origin and has been under test by defense and intelligence agencies for more than a year, with results briefed to congressional overseers.the-express

For victims and some former officials, the combination of the U.S.‑held device and the Norway self‑test undercuts earlier intelligence claims that no such technology existed. Former senior CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos argued that earlier assessments were built on “analytic assumptions” that have now been “blown up.”the-express But others inside the intelligence community caution that lab or field tests proving biological effects do not equate to evidence of an orchestrated campaign, underscoring an emerging split between agencies that still downplay a foreign role and those that now consider a hostile device possible in a limited number of cases.washingtonpost +1

The Bigger Picture

The Norway case has intensified pressure on Washington to reconcile clashing narratives: a growing technical record that pulsed‑energy devices can affect the brain, and intelligence assessments that largely rule out a coordinated foreign attack in most Havana Syndrome incidents.washingtonpost +2 As testing of the U.S.‑acquired device continues and Norway’s findings circulate through classified channels, the central policy questions remain unresolved: how to protect personnel from a threat that may be real but poorly understood, and whether earlier official conclusions about the origins of these mysterious ailments will have to be rewritten.