Airborne Laser Team Completes New Phase of Payload Testing

August 5, 2005 The Boeing Airborne Laser (ABL) team has completed flight testing of the system’s passive mission payload, moving the program through another phase of critical testing. This test event, called the Low Power Systems Integration-Passive test, included ground and flight tests of ABL’s battle management command and control system and the Beam Control/Fire Control segment. The Airborne Laser is an intregal part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System designed to protect the United States, its allies, and its deployed troops from ballistic missile attack. Using a megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser housed aboard a modified Boeing 747-400 Freighter, the Airborne Laser’s mission is to detect, track, target and destroy ballistic missiles during their boost-phase, or shortly after launch. Its revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among the world’s weapon systems, displaying a capability to attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of kilometres.

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