Soviets speed, US outlook in laser weapons reported

A senior Air Force official said the Soviet Union could have an antisatellite laser weapon in space in the next five or 10 years and have an antiaircraft laser in orbit by the end of the 1980s. The official, Lt. Gen. Kelley Burke, Air Force chief of research and development, added, however, the United States is carrying on research at a fast pace and, if pressed, could orbit an antisatellite laser in the '80s.