Airborne Laser Successfully Fires In Flight | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-10.20.25

AirborneUnlimited-
10.14.25

Airborne-Unlimited-10.15.25

Airborne-NextGen-10.16.25

AirborneUnlimited-10.17.25

Fri, Aug 21, 2009

Airborne Laser Successfully Fires In Flight

Science Fiction Technology Moves A Step Closer To The Real World

The Airborne Laser's (ABL) megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) was successfully fired in flight Tuesday. The test, "First Light in Flight," validates the High Energy Laser's (HEL) ability to fire in an airborne environment.

For the test, the modified Boeing 747-400F prototype aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base, CA. and the megawatt-class laser was fired into an onboard calorimeter. The onboard calorimeter is a test instrument used to capture the laser energy and measure performance characteristics of the beam. This successful accomplishment is the final step in this phase of flight tests. Although significant work remains before external lasing in flight can take place, this phase of COIL testing represents a major step toward the ABL's planned lethal demonstration against a boosting missile later this year.

ABL is being developed as a future element of the nation's ballistic missile defense system, and the first to use directed energy to destroy ballistic missiles in their "boost" phase.

FMI: www.mda.mil/mdalink/html/mdalink.html

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 10.15.25: Phantom 3500 Confounds, Citation CJ3 Gen2 TC, True Blue Power

Also: Kodiak 100 Joins USFS, Innovative Solutions & Support Renamed, Gulfstream Selects Honeywell, Special Olympics Airlift The Phantom 3500 mockup made an appearance where the>[...]

Updated: Gryder Arrested On Gun Charge, Cites ‘Georgia Stand Your Ground’ Law

Incidents Allegedly Occured As Described in Police Report(s) 25-005809 and 25-005818 The name ’Dan Gryder’ is fairly well known to many in aviation.... Whether you like>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (10.18.25)

“Recent U.S. government policy updates emphasizing investment in domestic drone manufacturing align perfectly with our joint venture objectives, positioning us to meet critic>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (10.18.25): Final Approach Point

Final Approach Point The point, applicable only to a nonprecision approach with no depicted FAF (such as an on airport VOR), where the aircraft is established inbound on the final >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Eyeing the Hawk

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): The Best of the Eighties in the Early Twenties It can be argued with confidence that the father of the Ultralight aircraft from which the Light-Sport A>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 10.03.25: Phantom 3500 Buy, ‘Chinese Military Company’, NOTAM Redesign

Airborne Affordable Flyers 10.02.25: MOSAIC Start Date, AFE25 Tickets, ePulitzer

Airborne 10.01.25: New Gulfstream G300, Affordable Flying Expo Tkts, Starship 11

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC