§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have now looked into the study emerging from the firm R and D Associates of California which concludes that it would be possible 1152WA to use space based X-ray lasers to create fire-storms in cities, and if so what is their view of the study.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Support (Lord Trefgarne)No. X-ray lasers are one of a number of technologies being examined by the USA in the context of a research programme to determine the feasibility of strategic defences. This research is at an early stage and it would be premature to speculate about the results. If any offensive capabilities were to emerge from the research programme, however, then this, like other results of the research programme, would clearly need to be considered carefully. Meanwhile, President Reagan has emphasised the defensive nature of the SDI programme.