Spaceplane at Kirtland AFB?

From: Jilain 
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 17:04:01 -0800
Subject: Spaceplane at Kirtland AFB?


PENTAGON DEVELOPING REAL-LIFE "STAR WARS" FIGHTER

A published report on Tuesday will reveal that aerospace scientists
and engineers are quietly working on the first-ever military spaceplane.
Reporter Lawrence Spohn of the ALBUQUERQUE TRIBUNE tells how the
effort is being run quietly out of the Air Force's Phillips Laboratory
on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

"Phillips Lab is now directing construction of the world's first
Airborne Laser Attack Aircraft, complete with a 'speed-of-light' laser
cannon," writes Spohn.  "From a perch high in the atmosphere, it is to
be capable of knocking down -- STAR WARS laser style -- enemy missiles
moments after they are launched hundreds of miles away."   It is also
hoped the military spaceplane will serve as a "force projection" tool.

The project is already coming under fire.  "The future appears to be
one of discrete low-tech threats that ... do not require a spaceplane,"
says military analyst Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American
Scientists. "It can be entertaining and provocative," he said of the
spaceplane project, "but I do not see it as real-world."

See ya around :)

Jilain