Missile 1, Flying Laser 0. So much for America’s real-life “lightsaber.” The Missile Defense Agency has spent billions to trick out a Boeing 747 with a laser to shoot down missiles. But the so-called ...

This test isn’t about style or spectacle it’s about limits. A proto-lightsaber pushing temperatures around 4000 degrees meets real-world materials, and the results are immediate and unforgiving.