Executive Summary and Major Conclusions

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Abstract
The American Physical Society (APS) convened this Study Group to evaluate the status of the science and technology of directed energy weapons (DEW). The evaluation focuses on a variety of lasers and energetic particle beam technologies for their potential applications to the defense against a ballistic missile attack. This action by the APS was motivated by the divergence of views within the scientific community in the wake of President Reagan's speech on March 23, 1983, in which he called on the U.S. scientific community to develop a system that “…could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reach our soil.…” Directed energy weapons were expected to play a crucial role in the ballistic missile defense (BMD).

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