DATE: Friday, July 25, 1997                 TAG: 9707250838

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA                          LENGTH:   16 lines

LASER SUFFERS FUNDING SETBACK

Congress appears unlikely to approve any new Navy money for a powerful laser being built at Newport News' Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said the Navy's reservations about the free-electron laser, which could be used to shoot down cruise missiles, make it difficult to secure funding. Project officials are disappointed, but say work on the laser will continue. ``Our plans for upgrading the device will have to be delayed,'' said project manager Fred Dylla. ``But it's not going to slow down anything over the next year.''

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