What would be the next steps towards building an operational aircraft?
Data collected throughout the ABL test program have provided clear indicators for the type of aircraft architecture necessary to support this weapon system. The current prototype, a Boeing 747-400 freighter, is no longer in production. The architecture requirements and the next generation of the chemical oxygen iodine laser – built and under testing at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico – would indicate suitable aircraft to be evaluated and production considerations could begin.
