- "I hope you get your lights back on."
An Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb (or EMP) is a non-lethal, but highly destructive, weapon that emits an electromagnetic pulse that disables all electrical circuitry within a certain radius. After an EMP is detonated, all objects with electrical components within the radius will be rendered inoperative. These objects include, but are not limited to: phone lines, power lines, computers, cars, radar and electronic warfare equipment, electronic flight controls, television/radio equipment, and satellites. Basic systems working with batteries, such as torches, are not affected; but devices connected to mains power, such as lighting systems, are.
Veto Power[]
In Veto Power, Brett Marks and the Greater Nation militia gained possession of an EMP device with the intention of using it to bring down Air Force One.
The Game[]
During the events of The Game, a device found on board a hijacked ship (a PDA) during the mission "Ricin Wired to Blow") was taken into CTU and was later activated successfully. The device detonated an EMP in government building, crippling the security systems and allowing terrorists into the building.
The immediate effects of the EMP pulse lasted only two to three minutes, but the systems would not be fully operational again for several hours.
Day 4[]
On Day 4, after Paul Raines began reconstructing the deleted files on Marwan's system, McLennen-Forster Head of Security, Dave Conlon said that he may be forced to set off an EMP to prevent CTU from uncovering information proving the company sold arms to terrorists. CEO Gene McLennen's protests that the EMP would cripple the company electronically were quieted by another executive, John Reiss, who said that detonating an EMP would be a better solution than going to prison.
When Conlon realized that Paul successfully rebuilt an encrypted file that might contain incriminating evidence against McLennen-Forster, he ran to Marwan's office to intercept the file. Reiss announced that they were forced to use the pulse bomb, but that CTU would probably suspect that Marwan was behind it. He called a technician and ordered the man to activate the EMP. The technician confirmed the activation and told Reiss the EMP would take ten minutes to charge.
Meanwhile at CTU, Sarah Gavin noticed that CTU's phone taps for McLennen-Forster were not sticking because of an increase in amplitude. Edgar called Jack's cell phone, but got a message that he was out of range. After calling McLennen-Forster and getting disconnected, Edgar realized that all of the cell and land lines around the building were out, but the computers had not been affected yet.
Tony sent Jack an electronic message through his system, but when Jack attempted to call CTU he realized that the phones were out. Jack searched McLennen-Forster's files and discovered that the company was developing an EMP as a non-lethal weapon for the military. He saw that the EMP had been activated to detonate, sent Tony a message alerting him of the situation, and left to find and stop the EMP.
Jack found the room containing the EMP and disabled the three guards. Using one of the guard's passcards, Jack entered the room and saw that the EMP was fully charged. He pushed against the heavy metal door to the safety chamber and tried to close it. The door began to move slowly, but the EMP detonated before the chamber could close completely.
Hidden in an office down the hall, Paul watched as the lights from the surrounding buildings blacked out. The weapon stopped electronics in roughly eight square miles of LA, including the southeast quadrant of downtown.
Day 8[]
In an effort to stop CTU from being able to track their whereabouts during an attack on the U.S., Samir Mehran set up an elaborate plan to detonate an EMP at the government facility. Tarin Faroush faked an escape for Kayla Hassan, who was being held hostage, and convinced her to call CTU after giving her his car. Samir pretended to shoot Tarin, and made sure that Kayla saw him, but it was all part of the plan and Tarin was unharmed.
CTU guided Kayla to their facility, at which point they realized there was an EMP in the vehicle. As they found it the countdown to its explosion was at 15 seconds before detonation. Brian Hastings tried to get all personnel out of the area, but a security guard tried to move the car away. He did not manage it in time and was killed; in addition, all CTU's electrical equipment was shut down. The car that Samir in (which CTU had been tracking) was lost and Jack and Cole had to call the NSA to assist them with their operation as CTU was out of action.