Dude.
In May 1977 the American national security community was startled by a report in the respected trade journal Aviation Week & Space Technology concerning Soviet progress in directed energy weapons. For several years Major General George J. Keegan, head of Air Force intelligence, had been monitoring Soviet developments since 1973, and attempting since 1975 to convince the American military and intelligence community of an impending directed energy weapons gap. With his retirement in January 1977, he went public with his case. It was reported that:
"In increasing numbers, U.S. officials are coming to a conclusion that a decisive turn in the balance of strategic power is in the making, which could tip that balance heavily in the Soviet's favor through charged particle beam development ... Most of the controversy centers on what tests are being conducted in an unusual research facility about 35 mi. south of the city of Semipalatinsk."
Aviation Week editorialized that:
"The Soviet Union has achieved a technical breakthrough in high-energy physics applications that may soon provide it with a directed-energy beam weapon capable of neutralizing the entire United States ballistic missile force and checkmating this country's strategic doctrine... The race to perfect directed-energy weapons is a reality. Despite initial skepticism, the U.S. scientific community is now pressuring for accelerated efforts in this area."
Apparently, Keegan wasn't entirely dismissed, either. Seems like his warnings laid the foundation for SDI. |
