Dutch Firm Signs ‘Star Wars’ Pact
THE HAGUE — An independent Dutch science institute has signed a contract with the United States to take part in Strategic Defense Initiative missile research, a spokesman for the institute said Friday.
Willy Melford of the Applied Science Research (TNO) group said the contract, signed earlier this week in Washington, would mean the institute can continue to work on electromagnetic pulses which could be used instead of gunpowder to propel high-speed rounds from futuristic weapons on Earth or in space.
The Dutch government has said it will not participate in SDI, commonly known as “Star Wars,†but independent institutes and firms are free to do so. Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, Israel and Japan have agreed to take part in SDI.
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