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Boeing Receives Aircraft for Laser Gunship Program
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Datum nieuwsfeit: 23-01-2006 |
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Bron: The Boeing Company |
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The Boeing Company
Boeing Receives Aircraft for Laser Gunship Program
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 23, 2006 -- Boeing Missile Defense Systems
(MDS) has taken delivery of the aircraft for the Advanced Tactical
Laser (ATL) program, achieving the first of several key milestones in
the laser gunship effort.
The C-130H transport, which belongs to the U.S. Air Force's 46th Test
Wing, was handed over to Boeing on Jan. 18 in Crestview, Fla., near
Eglin Air Force Base. Boeing is modifying the aircraft to enable it to
carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam
control subsystems.
Boeing will begin flight testing the aircraft this summer with all
subsystems on board except the high-energy laser. A low-power
surrogate laser will stand in for the kilowatt-class, high-energy
laser.
The high-energy laser is being built in Albuquerque, N.M., and is
scheduled to achieve "first light" in ground tests this summer. By
2007, Boeing will install the device on the aircraft and fire it
in-flight at mission-representative ground targets to demonstrate the
military utility of high-energy lasers. The laser will be fired
through an existing 50-inch-diameter hole in the aircraft's belly.
Boeing is developing the Advanced Tactical Laser for the U.S. Defense
Department through an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD)
program. Following the 2007 tests, it is anticipated that DOD will
approve starting ATL's full-scale development.
ATL can produce both lethal and non-lethal effects, supporting
missions on the battlefield and in urban operations. It can destroy,
damage or disable targets with little to no collateral damage. As a
directed energy weapon, the Advanced Tactical Laser is complementary
to the Airborne Laser (ABL), which Boeing is developing for the U.S.
Missile Defense Agency to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost
phase of flight. ABL consists of a megawatt-class chemical laser
mounted on a Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft.
"ATL will do for air-to-ground combat what ABL will do for missile
defense: revolutionize the battlefield," said Pat Shanahan, Boeing
Missile Defense Systems vice president and general manager. "ATL will
give the warfighter a speed-of-light, precision engagement capability
and avoid the kind of collateral damage sometimes associated with such
traditional weapons as bombs and missiles."
Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser industry team includes L-3
Communications/Brasher, which made the turret for the laser, and HYTEC
Incorporated, which made various structural elements of the weapon
system.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one
of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in
St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion
business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global
military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading
provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the
world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest
satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based
communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile
defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment
solutions and launch services.
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Contact Info:
Maria McCullough
office: (703) 414-6158
maria.mccullough@boeing.com
Marc Selinger
office: (703) 414-6138
marc.selinger@boeing.com
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