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The X-ray laser offered the possibility that many laser beams could be generated from a single nuclear weapon in orbit, meaning a single weapon would destroy many ICBMs. This would blunt the attack to such an extent that any US response would be overwhelming in comparison.
A related concept from the SDI project was the nuclear-pumped X-ray laser, an orbiting atomic bomb surrounded by laser media in the form of glass rods. When the bomb detonated, the rods would be exposed to highly-energetic gamma-ray photons , causing spontaneous and stimulated emission of X-ray photons within the rod atoms.
As the common visible-light laser transitions between electronic or vibrational states correspond to energies up to only about 10 eV, different active media are needed for X-ray lasers. Between 1978 and 1988 in Project Excalibur the U.S. military attempted to develop a nuclear explosion-pumped X-ray laser for ballistic missile defense as part ...
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On November 14, 1980, the first successful test of the bomb-powered x-ray laser was conducted. The use of a bomb was initially supported over that of the reactor driven laser because it delivered a more intense beam. Livermore's research was almost entirely devoted to missile defense using x-ray lasers. The idea was to mount a system of nuclear ...
Israel’s experimental air-defense system known as the Iron Beam uses laser technology to strike down drones and rockets, but military analysts say the device needs U.S. support to improve its ...
The U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) investigated a variety of missile defense strategies, many involving exotic technologies such as the X-ray lasers [87] envisioned by Project Excalibur, or the Brilliant Pebbles kinetic-kill satellite system. [88] None of the more exotic systems were pursued to prototyping.
U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin and Israeli contractor Rafael have teamed up to create a high-energy laser weapon system, based on a technology already under development in Israel that could be ...