EMP

The EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) is an unlockable killstreak reward in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Requiring a killstreak of 15, or occasionally found inside a Care Package, the EMP disables all enemy electronics. Hostile players will have no HUD, and electronic scopes (such as the Red Dot Sight) will be disabled. Their vision will also be slightly fuzzy. Any enemy sentry guns will be destroyed and all hostile aircraft will crash. Enemy players will be unable to activate their own killstreaks while they are affected by an EMP. The EMP effects last for 60 seconds, but does not affect friendlies.

An EMP is featured in the single-player missions Contingency and Second Sun, halting the Russian advance in the Russo-American War.

Effects of the EMP
Note that this list applies only to enemies; friendlies are unaffected.



Player View

 * Vision becomes fuzzy
 * Entire HUD disappears, including radar, hip-crosshairs, and ammo counter

Weapon Attachments

 * Red Dot Sight - "Red dot" disappears (exceptions - the F2000)
 * Holographic Sight - Targeting reticle disappears.
 * ACOG Scope - Red cross hairs disappear, but the black cross hairs remain.
 * Thermal Scope - Thermal vision is disabled, but crosshairs remain, essentially becomes a standard sniper scope.
 * Heartbeat Sensor - Inoperative, static fills the screen, no red or green dots.

Weapons

 * Stinger - Unable to lock on to targets. (Unable to fire.)
 * Javelin - Unable to lock onto enemies or vehicles. (Unable to fire.)
 * AT4 - Unable to lock on to enemy vehicles, though still able to fire in free aim.

Killstreaks

 * All killstreak rewards will be destroyed if they are active at that moment, but the Emergency Airdrop cargo plane will be unaffected and still proceed to drop its load.
 * No killstreak rewards can be activated during duration of an EMP.
 * The Tactical Nuke is a unique case. While EMP is active, the nuke cannot be activated. However, if the nuke has already been launched, the EMP will not disable it, and the countdown will continue until endgame, presumably because the nuke has already been launched, so nothing can stop it.

Equipment

 * Claymore - Will not detonate if tripped, but the trip lasers remain active.
 * C4 - Remote detonator is disabled, but can be shot to explode.
 * Throwing Knife - Will fall to the ground.

Trivia

 * An EMP does not affect the digital wrist watches worn by some of the forces like the Rangers.
 * If the player looks outside the map immediately after an EMP is deployed (by either team), they can see a nuclear explosion identical to the one seen in Second Sun in the distant sky. However, to actually drop a nuke on the map itself requires the 25 killstreak Tactical Nuke, 10 kills more than the EMP.
 * It is odd that setting off an EMP does not affect Semtex as they are detonated electronically.
 * In reality, an EMP blast would not disable electronic devices that are insensitive to excess voltage.
 * In reality an EMP should affect both teams, however it only effects the enemy team ingame.
 * The handguns' sights will not have the 3 dots on them once an EMP is detonated; this is not accurate as the dots are painted or tritium-illuminated.
 * The EMP in Modern Warfare 2 is classified as the E1 component of an EMP, as the E2 component is more lightning-like, and the E3 component has a much slower pulse.
 * The EMP is the highest killstreak available in a Care Package. There is a 0.88% chance of getting one. However, the EMP is unobtainable from the Emergency Airdrop.
 * The title obtained when completing "Blackout: II" is called "Starfish Prime," which was a high-altitude nuclear test that caused a resulting EMP to affect most of Hawaii.
 * Using two EMPs will complete the Blackout I challenge, unlocking the callsign "Chick Magnet."
 * It is strange that the Throwing Knife is affected by an EMP, since it isn't an electronic device. Some players believe the cause of this is the "magnetic" part of the EMP, presuming that the throwing knife is magnetic.
 * If an AC-130 is being used by a player at the time of the EMP detonation, the player is forced to stop controlling the plane and will come back to their body. The AC-130, however, will remain above.
 * This is one of the 3 killstreaks that cannot be used to kill enemy players. The others are the UAV and Counter-UAV.
 * A friendly EMP used in conjunction with a Chopper Gunner or AC-130 is a deadly combination, as enemies won't be able to use lock-on missiles to shoot down the gunships. A good strategy for obtaining a Tactical Nuke is to try and get 4 more kills and call in an EMP before using your gunship, as you only need 10 more kills once you've got the EMP, and your gunship is unlikely to get shot down.
 * An EMP can be used as a good anti-air support killstreak instead of a launcher. This will benefit your team further in team games as well.
 * The EMP is probably it's most useful in long objective based team games such as Sabotage, Domination, Demolition and Headquarters where the enemy will use killstreak rewards to support their team and help them obtain the objective. The EMP will destroy current enemy killstreaks airborne and prevent them from using anymore during the duration of the EMP, while your team can freely use killstreaks. This can be beneficial for your team and turn the tide of a game. The enemy will find it much harder to defend against your team's killstreaks as lock on missiles will prove ineffective. They will also find it more difficult to spot harriers, helicopters, predator missiles etc because the radar is temporalily disabled.
 * The EMP is perhaps most effective in third-person game modes; if EMPd, you will have little ways of aiming your weapon and the reticle used disappears.
 * The EMP is the highest killstreak to affect the game without ending it, and along with the Counter-UAV, the only killstreak to directly affect every enemy player. (UAVs can be avoided with Cold Blooded).
 * If a friendly is using a Predator Missile, activating an EMP while they are doing so will cancel it.