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Premier Security Ballistic & Blast Ltd
EMP Shielding and Electromagnetic Pulse Protection
Premier Security Ballistic & Blast Ltd provides EMP shielding and Electromagnetic Pulse Protection (EMPP) systems for critical national infrastructure, defence facilities, command and control centres and government estates across the UK and internationally.
An electromagnetic pulse is most commonly associated with a nuclear detonation, where it is referred to as a nuclear electromagnetic pulse, or NEMP. The purpose of EMP protection is to prevent the pulse generated by a high yield nuclear weapon from disrupting or permanently destroying the electronic equipment inside a building.
The threat is no longer confined to nuclear scenarios. Recent decades have seen the development of non-nuclear pulse weapons designed to produce comparable effects on electronic systems without a nuclear detonation, which places EMP resilience firmly within the scope of conventional site protection planning.
What is an Electromagnetic Pulse?
The electromagnetic pulse phenomenon has been understood since the late 1950s. The characteristics of the electromagnetic radiation produced by a nuclear explosion depend on the altitude at which the detonation occurs, and fall into three broad categories: high altitude, air burst and surface burst NEMP.
In each case the source of the radiation is fundamentally the same. High energy gamma radiation from the detonation collides with air molecules in the earth's atmosphere and dislodges electrons from those molecules. The electrons, known as Compton electrons, move rapidly away from their parent molecule, and the resulting movement of charge is known as Compton current. It is this current that generates the intense electromagnetic field capable of coupling into cables, conductors and circuit boards over very large areas.
100s of kilometres. A high altitude EMP event can be initiated well outside a country's borders and still disable unprotected electronics across a continental footprint.
Why EMP Shielding Matters
EMP shielding of critical facilities is essential to protecting a functioning command and control structure. Unlike a physical attack, an EMP event requires no proximity, no forced entry and no presence on site. An attack can be launched hundreds of kilometres away, outside a nation's borders, and still render unprotected communications, control systems, servers and life safety equipment permanently inoperable.
For operators of critical national infrastructure, the consequence is not simply equipment loss. It is the loss of the ability to command, communicate and coordinate at precisely the moment those capabilities matter most. EMP protection is therefore best understood as a continuity of operations measure rather than an equipment insurance policy.
An EMP shield is only as effective as its weakest penetration. A shielded enclosure with an unprotected power feed, an unfiltered data line or a poorly gasketed door provides a false sense of security rather than genuine resilience.
The Points of Entry Principle
Effective EMP protection depends on treating the shield as a continuous conductive envelope incorporated within the host building. Every point of entry, or PoE, through that envelope must be addressed to an equivalent standard of performance. A single untreated penetration will act as an aperture and compromise the attenuation achieved everywhere else.
The points of entry that require treatment typically include:
- Personnel and equipment access doors
- Ventilation intakes, extracts and air transfer openings
- Mains and standby power feeds
- Data, signal and telecommunications cabling
- Fibre optic entries and cable transits
- Waveguide penetrations for pipework and services
- Panel joints, seams and gasket interfaces across the shielded envelope
EMP Protection Products We Provide
Premier Security provides a complete range of EMP protection products, designed, supplied and installed to project specific performance requirements. Each element is specified as part of a coordinated shielding envelope rather than as an isolated component.
Modular EMP Shielded Rooms and Cabinets
Modular shielded rooms and cabinets are constructed from prefabricated, standardised panels. Panels are bolted together with an electrically conductive mesh gasket fitted at every joint to maintain continuity of the shield across the full envelope. The standard panel material is 2 mm galvanised steel sheet, chosen to deliver high shielding performance alongside long term corrosion resistance.
Because the construction is modular, room and cabinet configurations are effectively unlimited in size and layout, which allows the shield to be sized around the equipment and operational requirement rather than the other way round. Full internal linings, lighting and electrical distribution can be provided within shielded rooms and cabinets as part of a turnkey installation.
EMP Shielded Doors
The door is the single most important element of any shielded facility. It is the largest moving aperture in the envelope, it is used repeatedly throughout the life of the building, and its shielding performance depends entirely on the quality of the design, the contact finger or gasket system and the closing mechanism.
We provide a wide range of shielded doors covering all performance levels and both internal and external applications. Because shielding projects are rarely identical, designs are routinely adapted to suit the specific opening, operational pattern and threat profile. Options include manual, electric and pneumatic latching, a full range of locking systems, weather seals, NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) seals, and thermal, acoustic or blast protection where the door must perform against more than one threat.
EMP Shielded Ventilation Vents
Shielded ventilation vents use a steel honeycomb waveguide construction that allows air to pass freely while attenuating radiated interference. Manufactured from steel, they deliver strong performance in the magnetic field, electric field and plane wave modes, and are specified across high performance EMPP and EMC applications.
Vent sizing is a coordination exercise between the mechanical services design and the shielding performance requirement, and is best resolved early rather than at installation stage.
EMP Line Protection Systems
Line protection combines active and passive elements to divert and attenuate an incoming EMP transient before it can reach protected equipment. The pulse is first diverted by a primary surge arrestor, spark gap or varistor, then attenuated by a high performance EMI filter. Both stages are contained within a shielded enclosure so that the protection system does not itself become a coupling path.
Power and data line filters are selected against the specific current rating, voltage, frequency and attenuation requirement of each circuit crossing the shield boundary.
Shielding Performance
The figures below represent typical standard performance for modular shielded rooms and cabinets. Upper and lower frequency performance can be extended where the application requires it, and project specific performance should always be confirmed at design stage.
| Mode | Attenuation | Frequency range |
|---|---|---|
| Magnetic field | 60 dB rising to 80 dB | 10 kHz to 100 kHz |
| Electric field | 80 dB | 1 kHz to 1 GHz |
| Plane wave | 80 dB | 1 GHz to 18 GHz |
Testing and Verification
Shielding performance is a measured property, not a design assumption. Shielding effectiveness testing of EMPP facilities is carried out to recognised international standards, including IEEE 299, Def Stan 59-188 and MIL-STD-188-125, with MIL-STD-285 referenced where legacy project documentation requires it. Pulse injection testing of EMPP filters is carried out to applicable NATO military standards.
We recommend that shielding effectiveness testing is written into the specification as a witnessed acceptance activity, with a defined pass criterion at each frequency band, rather than left as a contractor self certification exercise.
Combining EMP Shielding with Physical Protection
Facilities that warrant EMP protection almost always warrant protection against physical threats as well. A command and control centre, a data hall or a defence facility is rarely exposed to only one category of risk, and specifying each in isolation frequently produces conflicting details at the openings.
This is where Premier Security's position is different. With more than 30 years supplying independently certified high security architectural products, we understand how a shielded opening has to coexist with forced entry resistance, blast performance and fire compartmentation. Where a doorset needs to deliver against multiple threat categories, the interfaces are resolved as a single design problem rather than three separate ones handed to three separate suppliers.
Where a project requires certified attack resistance to LPS 1175, blast performance to ISO 16933 or bullet resistance to EN 1522/1523, those requirements are addressed through our certified product ranges and specified alongside the shielding envelope.
Sectors We Support
- Defence establishments and military communications facilities
- Government estates and command and control centres
- Critical national infrastructure, including energy and water
- Data centres and government and defence-adjacent compute facilities
- Emergency services control rooms and resilience centres
- Telecommunications and broadcast infrastructure
- Financial services continuity facilities
EMP Shielding FAQs
What is the difference between EMP and NEMP?
NEMP refers specifically to an electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear detonation. EMP is the broader term and also covers pulses produced by non-nuclear pulse weapons and other high energy sources. The protection principles are closely related, though the pulse characteristics and therefore the design requirement can differ.
Can EMP shielding be retrofitted into an existing building?
Yes. Modular shielded rooms and cabinets are frequently installed within existing structures, which is often the most practical route where a whole building shield is not viable. The critical factors are structural loading, achievable floor to soffit height, and the routing of existing services that will need to cross the new shield boundary.
What level of shielding performance do we need?
That depends on the threat scenario, the sensitivity of the protected equipment and any standard your organisation is required to comply with. MIL-STD-188-125 is commonly applied to hardened command and control facilities. We would normally recommend establishing the performance requirement before any construction detailing begins, as it directly determines panel construction, door type and filter selection.
Does an EMP shielded door also provide blast or attack resistance?
Not automatically. Shielding performance and physical attack or blast resistance are separate properties verified under separate standards. A door can be designed to deliver both, and we regularly specify doors with combined requirements, but each performance claim must be supported by its own testing evidence.
At what stage should EMP shielding be brought into a project?
As early as possible, ideally at RIBA Stage 2 or 3. Shielding affects structural setting out, mechanical and electrical routing, door schedules and the acceptance testing programme. Introducing it after the services design is fixed usually results in avoidable cost and compromised performance.