Black Files Declassified (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - How to Stop an Assassination - full transcript

Baker: An obscure footnote in
an unclassified government file

Leads me to uncover
a secret group of scientists.

Their mission... protect the
president against assassination.

[ gunshot ]

Greenewald: They tried to research
every possible conceivable way

That they could
assassinate the president.

Nye: Even if the shrapnel
doesn't hit the plane,

The shockwave can potentially

Tear apart sections
of the plane.

Russell: You could basically
upload a photo of someone

And go find him and kill them.



The u.S. Government
has contractors

That are making full scale
versions of these

For this very purpose.

[ radio chatter ]

[ explosion ]

Stand by for pda.

Narrator: Every year, more than
$90 billion

Is allocated to clandestine
government programs

Collectively called
"the black budget."

Each individual operation
is a black file.

I'm mike baker.

As a covert
cia operations officer

For over a decade and a half,

I supervised missions
around the globe.



My security clearances
gave me access

To many classified projects.

Now I'm following the money
trail to the secrets

Hidden inside the black files.

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Manila, philippines,
November 2017...

During an official visit with
philippine president duarte,

The secret service receives
word of a credible threat

Against the u.S. President's
life.

How did they validate
the threat and prevent it?

The answers lie in a top secret
government program.

The strategic threat analysis
and research project,

Or project s.T.A.R.
Is a billion dollar black file

With one purpose...

Protect the star
of the united states...

The president.

For decades, it was just
a mention in a footnote

Of an obscure government memo,

Until recently, when a threat
to the president

Appeared on social media.

Agents in the secret service's

Protective intelligence division
intercept a tweet that reads

"gunna be in manila
at the same time.

I'll take one
for the team, lads."

Accompanying the tweet
is a photo

Of kennedy presidential assassin
lee harvey oswald.

Agents track the I.P.
For the tweet...

The unique identifier
for the computer.

It's coming from a location
in downtown manila.

Using facial
recognition software,

They're able to match the face,
track the operative's movements,

And locate him heading
towards the president's hotel.

They swarm in for the arrest.

A crisis is averted.

How did we develop the abilities

To stop an assassination attempt
before it even gets started?

I'm meeting with investigative
journalist john greenewald.

He's devoted much of his career

To uncovering u.S. Government
secrets,

Including many black files.

John?
- Hey, mike.

This one... project s.T.A.R.
Tell me what you know.

Sure. It came to light
just in the last few years,

Thanks to journalist
sharon weinberger,

Who is working on a book.

She uncovered
these formerly secret files

From the national archives

That detailed
this top secret project

Aimed at protecting
the president.

What she discovered about
project s.T.A.R. Was

Right after
the jfk assassination,

They tried to research
every possible conceivable way

That they could,

In essence, assassinate
the president to ensure

That the kennedy assassination
were to never happen again.

Reporter: The motorcade moves...

Baker: November 1963, president
john f. Kennedy is assassinated

While riding in an open car
motorcade in downtown dallas.

His death lays bare the failures
of presidential protection.

Three lead scientists

From the defense advanced
research projects agency...

D.A.R.P.A...
Determine more needs to be done

And it needs to be done
in secret.

The black budget program
and the technology

That would result from it
is called project s.T.A.R.

Johnson: I, lyndon baines
johnson, do solemnly swear

That I will
faithfully execute...

The office of the presidency
of the united states.

What was interesting was that
it was kept

From the president himself.

They feared that he did not want
to hurt his macho image.

Were any of the concepts
used at that time?

Are they still in effect today?

They were creating weapons
in their own minds

And putting it to paper to think
that if we can think of this,

So can the bad guys.

So they were thinking up...
Of a billy club

With a sharp, protruding edge

That if you would get
close enough to the president,

You could literally
just pick it up

And this thing would shoot
into the human body.

They were looking at aerosol
spraying guns like a squirt gun

With some type
of chemical agent.

But I want to thank you
for your time.

Anytime.

- Talk to you soon.
- Thank you.

♪

Is it possible that some of
the seemingly crazy ideas

From project s.T.A.R. Scientists
are actually in use today?

I'm going to connect
with interdisciplinary scientist

And investigator ben mcgee.

He's been studying
some of the early technology,

And he tells me that some of

The strangest ideas
developed for project s.T.A.R.

Are actually based
on sound science.

♪

- Ben.
- Hey, mike.

Sweet fishtank.

This is not a fish tank
you see before you.

This is an example
of the physics

Of one of the more
innovative methods

For protecting the president
from an assassination.

Was this coming out
of project s.T.A.R?

- Yes.
- Okay. What do we got?

Tell me about it.

Yeah, let me walk
you through it.

So, forget about the tank
for just a second,

And let's talk about mirages.

You make the ground much
hotter than the air over it.

And when you do that,

The atmosphere
will act like a lens

And bend an image
of the sky downward on it,

So it makes it look
like the road is wet.

It's actually an image of
the sky being sort of bent down.

Well, you could do the opposite.

So if you make the air

Immediately over the ground
much hotter,

You do the reverse...
- Just reverse it.

...So the ground
is colder,

It will bend the image
in the reverse direction.

This happens in nature,
rarely but occasionally,

Where it makes mountains

Look like floating islands
in the sky

Or it makes ships look
like they're sailing

Above the horizon.

You may have seen pictures.
- Yeah.

Imagine the president
standing at a podium.

You have these heat
generators in front

That would super heat
the air mass in front of him.

Then you've got the crowd,
you know, the audience over here

Would take the president
standing here

And bend the image
so it would look like

He's actually standing here.
- Lift him up.

- Exactly.
- Okay.

So a would-be assassin
looking at the target...

Yes. Would fire at
the president's head

Or the president's chest.

In the real world,

The bullet would go straight
over the president's head.

Okay.

Since, you know,
it's not practical

To try and do this
with heat right here,

Imagine that this tank
represents two air masses.

The empty part of the tank
is your superheated air

And then the water is say,
the very cold air.

Not necessarily in
the right direction,

But watch what happens
to the image of my hand

As I cross the plane.

- All right. Yeah. Absolutely.
- Exactly.

So the water is denser than air,

So this is like
a magnified example.

But this principle is real.
They call it refraction.

Great idea.
I mean, very clever.

Was it practical?
Did they actually implement it?

It is based on absolutely
sound science,

But the amount of energy
required to heat all that air,

There was no way
to actually implement

Something on this magnitude.

- What else you got?
- Well, there was another...

Here, can you move
this table up here, please?

Allow me to present another
anti-assassination technique.

- Oh, the fan, of course. Yes.
- Yes.

You've heard about fan
saving presidents.

- No, no. But I'm going to.
- Yes.

This was representing
giant spinning rods.

And the idea was, well,

If the president's standing
at a podium right here,

If you have deflecting rods

That are spinning fast enough
and are strong enough,

They would literally knock
a bullet out of the way.

Then you're protected
from the crowd.

And you might say,

"well, if you put this big thing
in front of the president,"

You know,
"how is this going to work?"

This is all based on
the physics of the human eye.

So, you know,
just to walk through it.

So sure enough,
what were solid blades

You can see straight through.

And so I'm the president,
I'm being presumptuous,

But I'm the president,
I got my podium,

I got the crowd back there.
You've got rods, right,

Spinning to deflect
any projectile.

People can see me.
- You got it.

- What's the problem?
- Well, this is a tiny motor.

And when I ramp this thing up.

[ fan whirring ]

Now, imagine
you're the president

Trying to give a speech
on something.

And this is the smallest scale.

And not to mention the fact

That the first 20 to 50 rows
of people

In the audience getting hit
by this massive wind turbine.

But like with
the refraction, again,

A great example of thinking
of what could be done

And using pure science
to create an opportunity.

You got it.

Baker: The scientific minds
behind these inventions

Were incredibly creative,
if not entirely practical.

It makes me wonder
what the current iteration

Of project s.T.A.R.
Is cooking up now

And just what
science fiction-like threats

They're working to thwart.

Baker: A footnote to a secret
government document

Reveals a black file
called project s.T.A.R.,

Created by a group of scientists

Dedicated to protecting
the president.

Their mission... determine
all the ways a president

Could be assassinated

And then stop them
before they ever happen.

What I want to know is,
what are today's threats

And how can they be stopped?

So I'm meeting up with a man
that gets asked

That very question
by top government officials.

♪

When we're talking about
the protection

Of a high value target

And there's none more high
profile than the president,

Where do you think
this is going?

I think the great challenge

For people protecting
the president,

Other high value
targets like that,

Is that there's a lower barrier

To entry for the kind of
technology

That the bad guys
might have at hand.

If you're thinking
about what's changed

Since project s.T.A.R.,
back then,

They literally don't
have the internet.

Now, the internet would be
crucial to everything

From the potential
inspiration of an assassin

To maybe a group using it
for intelligence gathering

Or coordination,
to literally, the internet

Could be the means
for the attack itself.

Cyber means causing
physical change in the world.

So, how are the new
technologies making their way

Into the potential
assassin's playbook?

So for the past, they
needed to get up close.

Be it with a knife,
be it with a pistol.

Now a potential assassin or a
group has access to technology

That allows them to operate
at a distance

That might not be
measured in miles,

It may be from a continent away.

So you could envision anything
from a drone attack

From a distance...
Unmanned systems

That will allow them
to operate remotely.

Baker: Drone attacks are on
the mind of the secret service.

Ever since one flew
onto the grounds

Of the white house in 2015.
It was harmless,

But the breach in security
it exposed was not.

So a drone would be
a good example

Of what technology
is now available?

Back in the past,
you would have said,

"okay, the air force," you know,

"controls the airspace
over washington, d.C."

Now you have to think about
someone with a commercial drone

That they could pick up,
linking that together

With low level explosives

Or something to create
real threat.

Baker: P.W. Singer's warning
about drones

Got me thinking,
"just how deadly can they be?"

A little research came up with
a new high tech killing machine,

An autonomous drone.

This is what could happen.

Your kids probably have
one of these, right?

Not quite.

Hell of a pilot?
No.

That skill is all a.I.

Just like any mobile device
these days,

It has cameras and sensors

And just like your phones
and social media apps,

It does facial recognition.

Inside here is 3 grams
of shaped explosive.

This is how it works.

♪

Did you see that?

That little bang

Is enough to penetrate the skull
and destroy the contents?

These are available today.

We have a distribution network
taking orders from military,

Law enforcement,
and specialist clients.

The scenario is terrifying,
but not yet a reality.

So why would anyone
put together a film

Laying out all the dangers that
p.W. Singer warned us about?

Well, a few telephone calls led
me to professor stuart russell.

Professor russell and others
are experts at u.C. Berkeley

And stanford in robotics
and artificial intelligence

And the threats that they
could pose to society.

Hi, professor russell.
- Hi, mike. Nice to see you.

What compelled you
to make this film?

So the reason we made the film

Is because we wanted
people to understand

In a very concrete way

The threat
that we're talking about.

So, the threat comes from
autonomous weapons

That can locate and select
and attack human targets

Without human supervision.

What is the technology
that makes this possible?

So, the technology that
we show in the movie

Is not dissimilar from what you
can buy in a toy store

Or from one of
the big drone companies,

Plus the capability for it
to operate autonomously

Using artificial intelligence,

The ability to recognize
human beings

By the targeting criteria
that you gave it,

And then, some of
the maneuvering capability

To actually carry out
the attack.

All of these pieces
are already available

In one form or another.

If countries decided to,
I think within 18 months

To two years,
you could be seeing

The deployment
of millions of these weapons.

Do you believe that
a single drone

Carrying out an assassination
is possible?

Face recognition of individuals

Is basically an off-
the-shelf technology

And used in several
countries on a mass scale.

So, yes, you could basically
upload a photo of someone

And say, you know,

"I expect them to be
in this general area,"

You know, "go find
them and kill them."

None of that is technologically
difficult right now.

From talking to people
in the u.S. Government,

I know that the secret
service is very,

Very concerned
about this kind of attack.

Baker: The threat is very real.

In March 2019, a drone exploded

During a speech of venezuelan
president nicolàs maduro.

[ explosion ]

The attack was unsuccessful,

But the drone was using a.I.

Okay, well, clearly this threat
goes beyond the president

And other high profile
targets, right?

It's an international problem,

So do we need
an international solution?

To prevent this kind of,
I would say, disastrous future,

The only real possibility

Is that we have
an international agreement,

Because at the moment
everyone is afraid

That the other countries
are going to do it,

So that means
they have to do it.

But if we agree that this
direction is a bad direction

For the world,
then we can put a stop to it.

Well, thank you very much,
professor.

Very important points
to consider.

Thanks, mike. It was
nice talking to you. Bye.

So how would the elite team
that's tasked

With keeping the president safe
handle a micro drone attack?

I'm meeting up with
my favorite scientist

And investigator, ben mcgee.
He says he's got an idea.

- Ben.
- Mike.

Listen, I've given you a big,

Scary problem this time, right?

Slaughter bots, the potential
for havoc is frightening.

Is there something
we can do to stop them?

So take this, for example,
a commercial drone,

You can pick this up
on the cheap,

But the problem is red bad,

This is now not
a commercial drone.

You put a few grams,
of shape charge in there,

And it is a slaughter bot.

There are two ways
that this thing can find you.

One is a camera in here.
Check this out.

That's actually
a real-time view right there.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
You're looking at me.

So facial recognition.
That's one way that this thing

Could literally find you
in a crowd

And then seek you out
and go get you.

The other way is for it
to be piloted

Either onboard or
via a controller.

If you imagine,
that's the problem.

And then, see this thing.
Now it's targeting you.

[ drone buzzing ]

Okay, so in our scenario,
say I'm the president,

If I'm the target now
of this drone,

We've got two things
to worry about...

A camera system, control system.
- You got it.

All right.

Now that it's up in the air
and it's targeting me,

I'd like to ask you
if we have a way to stop it.

Fortunately, we do.

So imagine you're the president,

The drone's coming in
during a speech.

The secret service might go
for something like this,

Which is... they technically

Call it electromagnetic
countermeasures.

I like to call it
a photon rifle.

It fires light.

So there are two kinds
of transmitters this thing has.

One is basically a green laser.
They call it a dazzler.

You think of it
as a super laser pointer.

And the purpose of that?

That will be to cook the camera

So that it can't see you,
and facial recognition

Like we all have on
our phones, you disable it.

- Okay.
- Now, if that doesn't work,

This is essentially
a big radio transmitter.

It operates on 2.4 gigahertz,
which is wi-fi,

It's basically radio.
If you imagine the controller

Is talking to the drone
it mentioned,

It's literally
shouting out commands.

What this thing is,
is a bullhorn.

It makes it impossible for that
drone to hear the directions.

So you blind the camera,
and essentially

What you're going to do here
is jam the signal.

- You got it.
- Okay.

So let's try the first thing.

Now watch,
as you fire the dazzler...

Now look at the camera.

You're actually seeing
the drone get blinded.

Yeah, okay, you blanked it out.

Look it, drone's still coming.

Right, you've got the control
system now to worry about.

- Yeah, exactly, so turn it on...
- It's getting closer may I add.

Here's the safety.

You always need
a safety on a weapon.

- Right.
- Okay, so this is on.

Remember, radio's invisible
and it doesn't make any sound,

So you won't know
when this thing is on

Unless I pull the trigger,
so watch this.

Nice shot.
Good.

And I want to thank you
for doing that.

Well, you're welcome.

But how accurate do you
have to be with this?

Not that accurate.
You know,

This is a directional antenna,
but it's got a bit of a spread.

So think of it more
like a shotgun.

Okay, and distance, obviously,
the further away you can disable

This because you don't know
what's on the drone

That's coming towards
the intended target,

So what are we talking about,
100 yards, 200 yards?

Well, this is a prototype that
I made for this demonstration,

And I did disable the right
bits and parts.

If I actually fired
this full intensity,

It'd be a violation of fcc law,

And that's, you know,
breaking the law, so...

How difficult is this to make?

Oh, it's fairly difficult.

It's not rocket science,
but it's highly technical.

Okay, and these are not just
in the development stage.

This is something
that we have...

- Yes.
- ...Available now.

So more more than this,
you know, the u.S. Government

Has contractors that are making
full scale versions of these

For government use
for this very purpose.

But when we're talking about,
again, protecting the president

Or really
any high profile individual,

We do have a way now at this
point to stop these things.

You got it.
Secret service of the future

When they're trying
to take down a slaughter bot,

They'd reach for
something like that.

Excellent.

Baker: Is the secret service
going to be armed with photon guns

To protect the president?

This is certainly
the sort of thing

The original project s.T.A.R.
Scientists had in mind,

But just how real is it?

For that, I'm going to need
to dig deep

Into the top secret programs

Already in place
at the white house.

Baker: The white house
surrounded by secret service agents

Carrying photon guns,
downing killer drones,

How far off
from this future are we?

I'm about to talk with
presidential expert ron kessler

About the latest defenses around
and in the white house.

- Ron?
- Good to see you.

Good to see you, too.

What are the current threats

And how can we plan for them?

Today, it's biological,
radiological elements,

Drone attacks.
It's really endless now.

The physical construction
of the white house, ron,

How secure is it?

Main aim is to prevent anybody
from getting in.

The airspace above
the white house

Is not supposed to be intruded
on by any commercial airliner.

The nearby national airport
tracks, with radar,

Any possible intrusion.
In addition to that,

There are missile sites
across the street on the roof.

So the white house has its
own air defense system?

Exactly.

In addition, fighter planes
can be deployed

And have been deployed in
the event of a possible threat.

Baker: Those are big threats.

But what can be done to protect
against something

As simple as a drone?

The white house employs
green and red laser

Warning tracking systems
that alert oncoming targets.

There are reports also
that describe a dazzler laser

And jammer,
much like ben mcgee's,

Meant to disorient any threat
by blinding the driver or pilot.

The jammers also employ
g.P.S,

Which can track drones
back to their origin.

But if a drone carrying an
explosive or a biological weapon

Can somehow make it past
these measures,

How is the president protected
inside the white house itself?

The president himself
has various secret alarms.

They're ornaments
that are presidential seals.

If the president turns
one of them over,

That sounds an alarm
to the secret service.

Recently, a bunker was built
under the north lawn.

It's about 6 stories deep,
and it was all done secretly.

What it does is it houses

The whole white house
staff almost indefinitely,

I think for months,
with its own air supply,

With its own water supply.

They've put in pressure devices

That increase the pressure
of the air in the white house

So that if a biological
element is released,

It'll push out and not harm
anybody in the white house.

They also have radiation
detectors as well as,

Of course, the detection
of metal objects.

Baker: Secret service with
photon rifles

Is not such a crazy idea
after all.

In fact, it sounds like
it's a reality,

But how is the president
protected

When he leaves the white house?

How formidable is
the presidential limo,

Also known as "the beast"?

To find out, I'm flying
to san antonio, texas,

To get a look
at how vehicles are armored.

This is trent kimball,

Ceo of the texas armoring
corporation.

This is a range rover,
top of the line range rover.

For two generations,
his family business has

Armored vehicles
to withstand almost anything.

Baker: What is the science
behind armoring a vehicle?

We're going to take
a part of vehicle

And then put all those armor
materials inside the vehicle

And then rebuild your vehicle
around those armor materials.

I mean, I don't think
people understand

When you say
you're stripping it down,

You're really stripping it down.
- We cut it open.

You can see actually
the stitching

That they already
welded back on,

And our material
goes inside that

And then we put this back on.

So we've actually reinforced
this with ballistic steel.

What are the components
of armoring?

So the components of armoring
are the glass and opaque armor.

Opaque armor usually consists
of either ballistic steel

Or kevlar or spectra shield.

Baker: The opaque armor
in the presidential vehicle,

Also known as bomb blankets,

Is made up of layers
of ballistic nylon, titanium,

And ceramic with space
built in between.

This allows it to absorb
the energy

Of an explosive blast.

It's designed to withstand
a c4 attack,

But what about the windows?

Talk to me about the science

Of how that armor glass
stops a round.

So you have several
layers of glass

And then a polycarbonate
inside layer

That's going to act
like a catcher's mitt

For all the energy coming at it.

A round hits the glass,

That energy is diffused
throughout the glass,

And then that polycarbon

Is going to catch everything
else that's coming inside.

Okay, so it's not
like the movies

Where you see the bullets
bouncing off the glass.

The layers of glass,
and you have the thickness

Based on what round
you're looking

To protect against.
- That's correct.

Come over here
and we got this glass.

It's a windshield.
It's about 2-inches thick.

And so right here,
this final bit

Is the polycarbonate
that you're talking about.

Yes. And you'll see what
it does... after we shoot it,

You'll see bullets enter

And then you'll see
all the glass break.

And then on the inside,
when we come back,

We'll be able
to touch this glass

And there won't
be any penetration.

All right. Let's do it.
- All right.

Baker: I'm firing an ak-47
assault rifle...

One of the most frequently used
weapons in terrorist attacks.

Okay. Going hot.

♪

3, 2, 1.

[ gunshot ]

Baker: Tracking down how the
black budget funds technology

To protect the president

Has brought me
to san antonio, texas,

Where we're pitting an ak-47

Against a bulletproof
glass windshield...

One of the most vulnerable parts
of an armored vehicle.

♪

3, 2, 1.

[ gunshots ]

♪

♪

Weapon is clear.

Wow. Look at that.

Just what you talked about it,
so it diffuses the energy,

It spreads out...
- That's right.

...And you end up...

And this is 2-inch, right?
- That's correct.

It's 2-inches thick.
It's shot with ak-47.

Look at that.
That's fantastic.

- Yup. No penetration.
- Nice.

Just imagine what
the beast is like, right?

With 6-inch glass.

That's right.

It's going to be
able to stop a lot more.

Baker: In addition to the 6-inch
bulletproof glass,

The presidential limo also has
a transparent layer of metal

Inside the glass,
making it capable

Of withstanding
a significant explosion.

The transparent layer is created
by mixing powdered forms

Of aluminum,
oxygen, and nitrogen.

A heat and pressure process

Shape the mixture
into a clear shield.

But even without
the clear metal layer,

Trent backs
his company's product

By putting his life on the line,
literally.

And I understand you've got
a rather unusual way

Of demonstrating how confident
you are in your materials.

That's correct.

When it comes to assuring
our client's safety,

We take product testing
extremely seriously.

[ gun cocks ]

Somebody said, "hey, why
don't you sit behind there?"

And I said, "yeah."

And I've seen the tests
and demonstrations that we do.

The bullet will be stopped.

[ gunshots ]

Life is valuable, protect it.

♪

Baker: Reinforcing a car,

Regardless of the materials,
packs on weight.

The presidential limo weighs
in at 20,000 pounds.

Now, imagine a plane
that weighs more

Than a half million pounds

And flies at 30,000 feet
at 500 miles per hour.

How do the top scientists
and engineers

Armor and protect air force one?

I'm headed to washington, d.C.,

To meet with an expert on
the president's home in the air.

Talk to me about air force one.

Whenever my family
asks where I'm going,

If I'm gonna be
on air force one,

They're happy because it's the
most secure plane in the world.

We know that there's
a skin, a special skin

On the plane that's designed to
ward off electromagnetic pulses.

There's also countermeasures
in case the plane was attacked

With shoulder mounted missiles
or stinger missiles and so on.

Baker:
The electromagnetic shielding

Prevents the electronics
on board from failing

And helps scramble
or jam incoming missiles.

But then ken mentions
another threat

I'd not considered...
Potential vulnerabilities

In its secure communications.

Whenever there's an incident,
9/11 is a good example,

The security gets more intense.

That day, the secret service
learned a lot

About what air force one

Was capable of
and not capable of.

One of the things that troubled
president bush that day

Is that he was losing
communications with the ground.

He was trying to communicate
with people

And his contacts were dropping.

And imagine another crisis
like a 9/11,

The president's
going to communicate

From aboard air force one,
but how do you prevent

That communication
from being hijacked?

How can you guarantee in
terms of voice authentication?

Baker: Presidential
impersonations are a rising concern

After the increase
of deep fakes...

Videos altered to make
public figures appear

To say things that they didn't.

We're entering an era
in which our enemies

Can make it look like anyone

Is saying anything
at any point in time.

This is a dangerous time.

We hear that there are more
communications systems that

Have been added to the plane
that the secret service,

Understandably, and the air
force don't want to talk about.

Baker: What we do know is that
modern day d.A.R.P.A. Scientists

Are actively working
with digital experts

Through a program called
"medifor" or media forensics

To automatically detect
image manipulation.

It seems likely the president
is protected

By a top secret facet
of this program.

We also know there are
two new 747s

Currently being customized by
boeing as the new air force one.

What futuristic technology
are today's project s.T.A.R.

Scientists planning to utilize
to make the next generation

Of presidential aircraft
even more impregnable?

♪

Boeing corporation is currently
customizing two 747 jetliners

For the next generation
of air force one.

Currently outfitted with missile
scrambling technology

And artificial
intelligence protections,

How much further
can black file scientists

Go to protect the president?

I'm about to meet
with a top journalist

In the world
of clandestine projects.

Logan nye says that
he's uncovered a curious patent

Filing by boeing corporation
that could shed some light

On the next level
of presidential protection.

- Logan.
- Mike, good to see you.

So they're obviously concerned

Not just
with land-based threats,

But keeping them safe
up in the air.

Yeah, I mean, let's face it,
air force one

Is a very advanced aircraft with
really great defensive measures,

But you can't protect
against everything all the time.

When you can, you take
a new technological step

To protect the president.

One of the interesting things
that boeing is looking at

Is whether or not we can
create sudden force fields

To protecting
against shock waves.

So if I send a missile
up against you,

Anti-aircraft missiles

Usually work by sending out
a cloud of shrapnel

And a shockwave that can
knock the plane off course.

Now, air force
one has defenses against

The tracking mechanisms
for missiles,

So it can emit shaft to get

A radar-seeking missile
off course.

It can emit flares to knock
a thermal missile off course.

But if it gets there
and sets off its explosion,

Even if the shrapnel
doesn't hit the plane,

The shockwave can potentially
tear apart sections of the plane

Or force it into some sort
of uncontrolled movement

That could cause it to spin,
could cause flight troubles.

Boeing is looking at a system

That would stop
those shockwaves.

Boeing has filed a patent
for a system

That would allow a transmission
of energy through the air.

So basically, an electrical arc.

Boeing thinks they can find
a way to control them

So that these electrical
arcs are timed

To cancel out
an incoming shockwave.

So if a missile's coming
towards the president...

...And it goes off, that
shrapnel cloud's still going.

The plane is still gonna
take some shrapnel damage,

But that shockwave that can
push that aluminum in,

It can collapse the tube,

That can start breaking apart
structurally the airplane,

That shockwave can be canceled
out by a properly timed,

Perfectly placed electrical arc.

There's still plenty of guys
who are looking far ahead.

So you have groups
like d.A.R.P.A.

Their whole job is to make sure

That the enemy
doesn't surprise us

With sudden changes
in technology,

But we're able to surprise them.

Baker: Of course,
I'd like to get into boeing

To ask them about their patent,

But nobody's willing
to go on camera

To discuss the defensive shield.

It's not hard to imagine

That if they can successfully
produce the shields,

They'll be deployed
not only on air force one,

But also as a part
of presidential limousines

And helicopters.

I'm heading back
to washington, d.C.

To speak with a leader in
directed energy weapons concepts

Similar to those proposed
by boeing... booz allen.

Sir, if we could start from
maybe the 30,000 foot level,

Directed energy weapons,

What are we talking about?
- So in the near-term,

There are two types
of direct energy weapons,

High energy lasers and high
powered microwave devices.

A lot of reviewers have seen
the laser pointer

And you compare that
with a flashlight.

And the big difference
there is the light

Coming out of a laser pointer,
it's what we call coherent.

The wavelengths of the light
are all in the same direction,

In the same frequency.

Almost everybody has a microwave
oven in their kitchen.

Well, a high powered microwave
is basically taking

Those microwaves and focusing
them in a more coherent fashion.

And just like if you put a piece
of metal in your microwave oven

And you see what happens,

The same thing happens
when microwaves

Are directed toward a target.
- Why is this important?

They operate
at the speed of light.

These weapons can have
very large magazines

So that you can be
firing on one power source

And charging the other.
They're very stealthy.

So most of these lasers
are invisible

And they don't make any noise.
And last but not least,

They can be dialed
from non-lethal to lethal.

So where are we

In the development
of directed energy weapons?

So, several services have
already been experimenting

With prototypes
of these weapons.

There's a lab in the navy
in which they will demonstrate

That they can take
a 2-kilowatt laser

And they can burn a 1-inch hole
in a 1/4-inch thick steel plate

In less than two seconds.

The air force has a program
in which they're looking at

Putting lasers on their aircraft

To shoot down missiles
that are fired at them.

We're investing in ramping up
those power levels

And also reducing the size,
weight, and volume

Needed for those weapons

So that they can be placed
on not only ships,

But on small vehicles
as well as aircraft

And maybe even spacecraft.

Baker: Defensive electrical arcs
and laser weapons

Are ushering
in futuristic protections

The original project s.T.A.R.
Envisioned...

Photon laser guns will take out

Killer artificial
intelligence bots,

And computer algorithms will
defend against deep fakes...

Age of information.

Baker: But there's one form
of political assassination,

One that has been used
for thousands of years

That is simple and almost
impossible to defend against.

[ gunshots ]

The president's car is armored,
his planes protected,

Even the sky above
the white house is monitored

And protected against
science fiction-like threats.

But the mandate
of project s.T.A.R.

Is to think of everything,

And looking
over the past decade,

There's been one country adept
at political assassinations

That are as deadly
as they are simple.

In 2006, alexander litvinenko,

A former agent for
the russian intel service,

Visited the millennium hotel
in london, England.

There, he participated in a
popular daily british ritual...

He drank a cup of tea.

21 days later, he died of
poisoning from polonium-210,

A radioactive isotope.

It's these kinds
of insidious threats

That keep scientists
at d.A.R.P.A. Up at night.

Black file scientists need
to know

Just how easy is it
to poison the president.

- Ben.
- Mike.

All right. When
we're talking about

Protecting the president,

You have to plan for everything.

Every possible means
of attack, including poison.

Now, poison tends to be used
by nation states.

Go back to 1978, georgi markov
near waterloo bridge in london.

They got him with ricin.

Chechen rebel leader,
they got him with sarin.

But probably no case more famous

Than the 2006 killing
of a former fsb officer

Who was very critical
of the russian leadership,

Alexander litvinenko.
They got him

With a cup of tea.
- Yeah.

So, what makes this so insidious

Is it's... that assassination
attempt was using polonium-210.

It's what they call
an alpha emitter.

One thing I want to stress
is that not

All radiation is the same.
- Meaning what?

Meaning there are different
types of radiation

And the type of radiation

Emitted by polonium-210
and plutonium

And many other things
to be worried about

Is called alpha radiation.

Alpha radiation is
very weakly penetrating,

And it's short range.

You know, a little particle
of alpha radiation

Is only going to go this far
before it's stopped by the air.

It won't penetrate
a sheet of paper,

And it won't penetrate
the dead layer of skin

On the outside of your body.

So what I have here is
a commercial radioactive source

Of polonium-210.
It's low quantity.

It's unregulated.
But you don't have to take

My word for anything
that I just said,

Why don't you let me show you?

This is a geiger
counter... Okay.

...You know, a very simple
radiation detector.

And what happens is
as a particle of radiation

Travels through the probe,

It makes it beep.
- So it's beeping now.

Yeah, there's background
radiation

Around us all the time.
So watch...

It's still just a beep
every once in a while.

- Okay.
- There it is.

- All right.
- So I'm right on it.

Yeah, you're almost touching it.

I could stand next to this thing

For the rest of my life and it
won't pose me hazard.

I can hold it in my hand

For the rest of my life
and it won't pose me a hazard,

But there's no
dead layer of skin

On the inside of your body.

So if you get this inside you,
it's literally wailing away.

And just like a shotgun,
it's just going blam, blam.

Just destroying molecules
and breaking apart dna

And literally doing
a lot of damage.

So what was found in
the investigation in 2006,

Again, was that litvinenko

Had tea, he became
ill almost immediately,

And spent three excruciating
weeks in the hospital

Before dying a horrible death.

So let me show you why mixing
something like this into tea

Is just so terrifying.

So I'm not actually going to
douse this source in tea,

You know, I don't want to damage
it with the fluid,

But in place of the tea,

I'm going to use
a sheet of paper.

Remember I mentioned
that alpha radiation

Won't penetrate
a sheet of paper?

Well tea is a much better shield
than this piece of paper.

Water is denser than say,
this sheet of paper.

Yep. Yep.

Even if I suspected this sort
of assassination technique,

And even if I had
my own geiger counter

That I carried with me
at all times.

Naturally.

And even if I surveyed my tea,

I would see nothing because
the tea itself was in the way,

Just like the sheet of paper,
and it'd be even worse.

So litvinenko, even if
he'd had one of these.

Yeah.

And he had a cup of tea
poured for him,

He could have held it over there
and there would've been nothing.

- You got it.
- Because the density

Of the water is preventing that.
- Yeah.

The water is much
more dense than air.

- That's incredible.
- Yeah.

- So it's a real problem.
- Fascinating, ben.

[ beeping ]

Baker:
Protecting the president

Is one of the most challenging
jobs in the world.

Aided by black file projects,
u.S. Presidents

Have largely been safe,
but as would-be assassins

Develop increasingly
sophisticated methods.

The president's protectors
need to stay one step ahead.

That's what scientists
of project s.T.A.R. Aim for,

And that's what black file
scientists continue to do today.