Boeing anti-missile laser passes Pentagon test
Boeing Co.'s Airborne Laser scored its first test intercepts late yesterday, the Pentagon said.
The laser, carried on a Boeing 747, destroyed two short-range missiles shortly after they were launched one hour apart off the California coast, according to the Missile Defense Agency.
The laser would be one element of the nation's missile defense, complementing existing ground- and sea-based systems. It is designed to destroy missiles while they are in the boost phase, or still lifting off.
Chicago-based Boeing builds the aircraft at its Wichita, Kansas, facility. Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. are the laser and fire-control subcontractors.
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