Havana Syndrome (AHI): Comprehensive Intelligence Briefing

In late 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations, using Pentagon funds, covertly acquired a portable, backpack-sized pulsed radio-frequency device through an undercover operation. The device contains Russian-manufactured components. It cost the U.S. government a figure in the eight figures, signaling this is not off-the-shelf hardware. As of January 2026, the device has been under active Pentagon testing for over a year.

The National Academies of Sciences previously concluded that directed, pulsed radio-frequency energy was the most plausible mechanism for at least the early Havana cases. That assessment preceded the device acquisition. The acquisition confirms what the science pointed toward. Russia has decades of research in high-power microwave weapons, and the Soviet Union exposed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to microwave radiation for decades.

For executive protection professionals, the operational implications are clear. Advance work must now include RF environment baseline assessment in high-risk locations. Protective details should carry portable RF detection equipment capable of identifying anomalous pulsed emissions. Accommodation selection must consider shielding properties, floor level, and proximity to adjacent structures that could serve as platforms for directed-energy deployment.

If a protectee reports sudden onset of directional pressure, buzzing, vertigo, or cognitive disruption, the immediate response protocol is relocation. Move the principal away from the suspected exposure location. Document the exact position, time, and orientation of the principal at symptom onset. Preserve the environment for subsequent technical investigation. Seek immediate medical evaluation with specific attention to vestibular and neurological function.