REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Oct. 14 -- Team ABL, comprising the US Air Force, Boeing, TRW and Lockheed Martin, has completed testing of the laser module that will serve as a technical foundation for the Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) missile defense system. According to Col. Mike Booen, director of the ABL program for the Air Force, the flight-weighted laser module-3 (FLM-3) exceeded by a significant margin the laser power and beam quality requirements of the operational ABL system during a four-month-long test program at TRW's Capistrano Test Site in Southern California.
With testing of the FLM-3 complete, Team ABL can now finalize the design of the flight laser module and begin manufacturing the first of six modules needed for the first 747-based ABL system. Manufacturing is scheduled to begin early next year, with testing of the first flight laser module planned for late in the year.