Will Reagan's Star Wars Plan Be Revived?

A solid state laser (SSL) would be mounted onto a U.S. Navy warship and would be used to destroy multiple incoming warheads or missiles aimed at a naval fleet or the United States

'We Want LASERS For Our $636m Missile Defense System': Military Experts Aim To Revive Reagan's Star Wars Plan -- Daily Mail

Almost 30-years after President Reagan promised America an impregnable space-laser defence shield against nuclear missile attack, the country is still waiting.

Pentagon planners and successive president's have since moved away from Reagan's 'Star Wars' Strategic Defence Initiatve (SDI) goal, instead concentrating on an anti-ballistic missile defence that relies on using ground-based rockets.

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My Comment: All major US defense related budgets are going to be slashed in the upcoming years .... reviving defense related projects like 'Star Wars' is not going to happen .... even if developments in technology makes it look very feasible.

The Next Generation Of Star Wars

From The New Yorker:

Call it a reusable space vehicle. Call it a space plane. But whatever you do, just don’t call it a space weapon.

That’s the message from the Air Force after last week’s launch of its X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which can stay on orbit up to 270 days. The Air Force won’t say what, exactly, the robotic space plane will be doing there, how long it will linger this time, or even how much it costs. But the military is already in the process of building a second aircraft, which will fly next year.

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My Comment: A surprisingly good summary on what are the U.S. military plans for space, and the open support that it is now receiving from the Obama administration.

The Soviet Union's Star Wars Program Was More Advanced Than The Americans During The 1980s

May 15, 1987: The Soviet Skif-DM launches from Baikonur.
(www.buran-energia.com)

From Air And Smithsonian:

It sounds like something from a James Bond movie: a massive satellite, the largest ever launched, equipped with a powerful laser to take out the American anti-missile shield in advance of a Soviet first strike. It was real, though—or at least the plan was. In fact, when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev walked out of the October 1986 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, because President Ronald Reagan wouldn't abandon his Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, the Soviets were closer to fielding a space-based weapon than the United States was. Less than a year later, as the world continued to criticize Reagan for his "Star Wars" concept, the Soviet Union launched a test satellite for its own space-based laser system, which failed to reach orbit. Had it succeeded, the cold war might have taken a different turn.

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My Comment: As a person who had to live through the long debate on the U.S. SDI program, this article makes my blood boil. The protestations and denunciations that we had to go through during this time .... as well as the lies from the Soviet Government against SDI (their lying should never be a surprise to anyone) .... and to now know this news.

My prediction .... the only news outlet that will publicize this story is the Air And Smithsonian Magazine .... and that's it.

Russia To Develop Their Own "Star Wars" System

Russia Developing New Missiles to Counter US System -- Voice of America

A top Russian military officer says his country is developing new missiles to counter space-based missile systems that could soon be deployed by the United States.

Russian news agencies quote Air Force General Alexander Zelin as saying the new Russian missiles will also defend against airborne attacks.

General Zelin, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Moscow, said the United States by 2030 will have deployed satellite-based missile systems capable of striking targets anywhere in Russia.

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More News On Russia's "Star Wars" Commitment

Air Forces to deter space-based strikes on Russia -- RT (Video)
Russia to upgrade air-space defense: air force commander -- China View
Russia's 'Star Wars' missiles defy US 'threats' -- Press YV
Is Russia ready for Star Wars? -- RIA Novosti

My Comment: Russia is not confident that their talks with the Obama administration will be successful. It appears that they have made the decision to develop their own "star wars" type of system.