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I'm glad to know that you guys are thinking of it. Hopefully, with a nuke generator (or solar panels with a LONG time between shots) the recharge costs could go down.

The psychological effect of them knowing that we can get them in an instant anywhere on earth would be worth the cost. Add to it the INSTANT REAL TIME strike power that cruise missles cannot replace. We may have gotten Saddam if we did not have to wait 15 minutes for the bombs to get there.

I understand it would be hard to get a lot of energy through the atmosphere, but we could let it build up on an immobile target for minutes, not microseconds like when shooting down missles. Just microwaving the tank parked outside HQ, (or the propane tank) until its ammo cooks off could be as effective as a bomb.

Personally, I like the way you think. Unfortunately, the folks who pay the bills shy away from 2-3 billion per platform. And to get instant response requires many orbiting platforms. Another possibility, especially in places like Iraq, would be high altitude airships. Always available and high enough to be secure. Also low enough to not need as much power and smaller optics.