Airborne Laser Fails to Destroy a Test Missile

The Missile Defense Agency of Pentagon announced that a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, equipped with a huge laser gun, failed to destroy a model missile tested over the Pacific Ocean. This setback marks the second successive failure for a major missile defense program.

The 747 Airborne Laser Test Bed failed to fire the laser gun due to the inability of its onboard sensors to track the missile exactly. The Pentagon performed the test over a military test range in Point Mugu.

Engineers at Northrop Grumman developed the laser system for the program, while Lockheed Martin in Maryland performed the designing of the beam and fire control system. The testing and modification of the aircraft was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base.

The major contractor of the airborne laser program is the Chicago-based Boeing. Boeing offered the battle management system and the aircraft and also supervised the testing process. The Boeing 747 jumbo flies with a chemical laser integrated to the rotating nose turret of the jet. The turret fires a basketball-sized and superheated beam. The laser is devised to burn a stress fracture found in the missile, resulting in the explosion of the missile over the ocean.