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Team ABL Demonstrates Airborne Laser Exhaust System
As part of recent performance testing of the first flight laser module for the Air Force's Airborne Laser system, Team ABL -- U.S. Air Force, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin -- are demonstrating the performance of the exhaust system that will remove laser exhaust gases from the 747 aircraft.
In the photo, laser technicians at Northrop Grumman's Capistrano Test Site double check the fittings on the "six pack" of single tube ejectors used by the laser module to "re-pressurize" and remove laser exhaust from the aircraft. The pressure recovery process allows the exhaust to be easily "pushed" out of the aircraft, similar to pushing a rock to the top of a hill and letting it roll down the other side under the force of gravity. Northrop Grumman leads the laser module integration and testing activities as part of Team ABL's $1.4 billion program definition and risk reduction contract with the Air Force, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and the Missile Defense Agency.
Photo Credit: Boeing Photo
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