The British Royal Navy is studying plans to arm its nuclear submarines with fiber-optic-guided missiles. The current missile is the Sub-Harpoon, which is due to be retired in 2005, and the British are concerned that firing Harpoons in crowded European waters without precise target identification is asking for an embarrassing accident. A fiber-optic weapon would, the British feel, give precise target identification and would also be able to engage land and air targets.--Stephen V Cole