Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site rabbit.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!eagle!alice!rabbit!wolit
From: wolit@rabbit.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Star Wars (continued)
Message-ID: <1722@rabbit.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Jul-83 16:06:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: rabbit.1722
Posted: Mon Jul 25 16:06:20 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Jul-83 23:27:09 EDT
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 23

(This discussion probably more properly belongs in fa.arms-d, but we
haven't seen much of that group lately -- maybe ARPA didn't like
funding the opposition -- so I might as well continue it here.)

I just read on the news wire that the Air Force's NKC-135 airborne
laser weapons lab successfully "defeated" five AIM-9 Sidewinder
air-to-air missiles fired from an A-7 attack aircraft in a test over 
the Navy's China Lake test center.  This is apparently the test that
failed last year.  The press, clearly with an eye toward Reagan's 
"Star Wars" speech, made several comparisons between the Sidewinder 
and ICBMs that will do much to confuse the subject in the minds of 
the general public.

Does anyone know whether the test was actually supposed to destroy the
missiles (which would require an impressively powerful laser) or simply
to "blind" them (the AIM-9 is an infrared homer)?  My guess is the
latter, which is still a good trick, though other, less sophisticated
measures, like dropping flares, can also perform a similar task.

	Jan Wolitzky, BTL Murray Hill

(PS: Although the article didn't say so, I assume the Sidewinders were
unarmed.  Else this interservice rivalry is getting hotter than I thought!)