Chapter One: Directed energy weapons: finally coming of age?

摘要

Directed energy (DE) systems have been something of a chimera for defence planners. From their first appearances in science fiction, to the ambitious 1980s United States' Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), they have been touted by advocates of the technology as a means of engaging military targets with, in the case of lasers, speed-of-light delivery and the possibility of near-unlimited magazines compared with kinetic-effect weapons, such as missiles or guns.