Competitors Join Forces for Airborne Laser

When it comes to matters of national defense, even the fiercest competitors can put aside their differences. Heraeus Amersil Inc. of Duluth, Ga., and Corning Inc. in Corning, N.Y., manufactured a 994-lb piece of optical-quality glass that will be used as the turret window for the Airborne Laser.
Heraeus provided Infrasil, a material suitable for the Airborne Laser's stringent optical transmission requirements. Corning provided the facility for forming the glass, which will be used as a nose-mounted optical window on a modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Contraves-Brashear Systems in Pittsburgh polished the shaped window into its final configuration.