Project Excalibur

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Project Excalibur was a United States government nuclear weapons research program. Conceived by Edward Teller, the concept involved packing large numbers of expendable x-ray lasers into a nuclear bomb. When it detonated, the bomb would fire laser beams in many directions. The intention was to shoot down enemy nuclear missiles.

The project was abandoned in the 1980s when it was determined to be out of reach of current technology. Since then, its main influence has been its appearances in science fiction. Research was redirected to laser satellites and kinetic weapons under the Strategic Defense Initiative.