Lt. General Henry A. “Trey” Obering, Missile Defense Agency director, announced today that all six chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) modules have been installed aboard the Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft. The ABL is being developed as a potential element of the nation’s ballistic missile defense system, and is the first to use directed energy to destroy ballistic missiles in their “boost” phase of flight.

The six COIL modules form the heart of the ABL’s megawatt-class chemical laser. Each module is roughly the size of a Mini Cooper automobile, and altogether the size of a large sport utility vehicle. The COIL sits in the rear of the highly modified 747-400F ABL aircraft. The modules house the chemical reactions required to generate the energy necessary to destroy a ballistic missile in flight. The COIL was successfully tested on the ground in 2005, demonstrating operationally significant power levels and lase durations.

Since then, each module has been disassembled and refurbished in preparation for fully integrated ground testing this summer. Although significant work remains before ground tests can begin, this phase of the COIL installation process represents a major step toward the ABL’s planned lethal demonstration against a boosting missile in 2009.

Overall laser integration is more than 70 percent complete. Once plumbing and wiring installation occurs and final inspections of the laser is complete, system activation and ground tests of the laser inside the aircraft will begin. Facilities, testing and safety procedures at Edwards are being upgraded to accommodate laser tests in the aircraft hangar.

The Airborne Laser consists of a modified Boeing 747-400F whose back half holds the high-energy laser. The aircraft’s front half contains the beam control/fire control system and the battle management system.