U.S. Unveils Airborne Laser Plane

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is ready to begin preliminary flight testing of some systems on a new Airborne Laser aircraft, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, June 28).

The agency unveiled the revamped Boeing 747-400F during a ceremony at the company’s Integrated Defense Systems facility in Wichita, Kan.

The airplane would carry a system for detecting, tracking and eliminating enemy missiles in their boost phase of flight.

“I believe we are building the forces of good to beat the forces of evil. … We are taking a major step in giving the American people their first light saber,” agency chief Lt. Gen. Henry Obering said during the ceremony, making clear reference to the Star Wars movies which provided a nickname for 1980s U.S. missile defense efforts.

While test firing of the Airborne Laser in flight is not expected until 2008, testing of select low-power systems could soon commence, AP reported (Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 27).

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