As anyone who has ever accidentally put a piece of metal in a microwave oven knows, metal in contact with micro-waves tends to spark. If the conductive wire harness inside an airplane fuel tank were hit with a microwave near the end of a transoceanic flight, when the concentration of fumes in the tank is heavy, the result could be an explosion.

Russian authorities claimed that in 1995, Chechnyan rebels used HPM to subvert a Russian security system and gain entry to a restricted-access area

Carbon-graphite coils capable of generating an electromagnetic pulse used to destroy electronics equipment—especially communications equipment—can be fitted to cruise missiles. Carbon-graphite equipped cruise missiles were used by U.S.-led forces in raids on Baghdad, Iraq, in 1991 and in 2003.