Airborne Laser Advances on Ground

The Airborne Laser (ABL) project continues to move forward with the testing of the beam control/fire control system in the Boeing 747-400F ABL aircraft. In ground tests with a surrogate high-energy laser, the system allowed the system to fire effectively at a simulated target. Meanwhile, the team has successfully finished ground testing the optics and diagnostics system for the chemical laser that will constitute the heart of the system.

Of course, it's not the ground performance that has ever been in doubt for this project. Whether a high-energy laser can operate as required under flight conditions is another question entirely. The illuminators, anyway, will get their first in-flight tests in the next few months. As to the rest, stay tuned…