LAS VEGAS, June 3 (UPI) -- A new "Star Wars" weapons system being developed could one day protect planes around U.S. airports from missile attacks by terrorists.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said Sunday the new system, oriented toward using energy bursts to defend against missile attacks, may soon be studied further at six "airports of interest" across the United States.
Las Vegas is one of the cities said to have an airport that could soon be used to further study how the defense system could be implemented. Other cities in the running as possible testing sites are Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington and Newark, N.J.
The Department of Homeland Security is accepting proposals for the technological system until Friday and will award contracts Aug. 17.
Experts estimate it will be a decade until those contractors can develop a working countermeasure system, the newspaper reported.
