In Sight: Killer Lasers

Lethal warships in space. Laser beams fired from orbiting rockets. Satellites zapped out of the sky. It sounds like the script of Star Wars, but according to testimony last week, the Pentagon's top weapons man believes it is perilously close to becoming a reality. Richard DeLauer, chief of research and engineering for the Defense Department, predicts that the Soviet Union may be ready to put into orbit as early as next year laser weapons capa ble of destroying U.S. spy and communications satellites. By 1990, he expects the Soviets to have "a large,...

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