Boeing YAL-1 (Boeing 747) Airborne Laser (ABL)

Boeing YAL-1 (Boeing 747) Airborne Laser (ABL)
Edwards AFB, California (CA), US
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) weapons system is a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside a modified Boeing 747-400F. It is primarily designed as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs), similar to the Scud, while in boost phase. The low-power lasers have been test-fired in flight, aimed at an airborne target board. The aircraft was designated YAL-1A in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Airborne Laser Laboratory, a less-powerful prototype installed in a Boeing NKC-135A, shot down several missiles in the 1980s.
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) weapons system is a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside a modified Boeing 747-400F. It is primarily designed as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs), similar to the Scud, while in boost phase. The low-power lasers have been test-fired in flight, aimed at an airborne target board. The aircraft was designated YAL-1A in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Airborne Laser Laboratory, a less-powerful prototype installed in a Boeing NKC-135A, shot down several missiles in the 1980s.
View in Google Earth No Longer There
Links: en.wikipedia.org
By: kjfitz

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kjfitz picture
kjfitz
@ 2009-04-28 16:40:17
This photo looks to have been taken around the same time it was parked in this location:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yal1-edw-041103-wp-01.jpg

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