The three companies have proposed a detailed design of an accurate, high-energy laser mounted aboard a 747-400 aircraft to shoot down theater ballistic missiles in the highly vulnerable boost phase of flight while the missiles are still over their launch area.

"We're excited to reach this milestone in the ABL program," said Boeing ABL Program Manager Paul Shennum."Today, Team ABL sent the Air Force our Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) proposal for an achievable, affordable and very effective defense against a missile threat that, unfortunately, is becoming more common in the arsenals of countries unfriendly to the United States. Right now, more than 20 nations, including Iraq and North Korea, have more than 10,000 theater ballistic missiles, and many also are working on weapons of mass destruction."

Team ABL's proposal calls for the laser weapon system to be mounted in a modified Boeing 747-400 freighter that would operate at altitudes above the clouds where it can acquire and track missiles as they rise from their launch sites. The airborne weapon system then would accurately point and fire the laser with sufficient energy to destroy the missile while it still is over the launching country and before separation of its warheads.

"Our team combines the best talents in the three areas critical to ABL program success _ Northrop Grumman lasers, Lockheed Martin optics/beam control, and Boeing system integration," Shennum said.

He noted that Boeing has developed a unique turret design and is demonstrating excellent aero-optical performance and reduced aircraft drag in 747 wind tunnel tests. Lockheed Martin has implemented a scaled version of the entire ABL beam control system to demonstrate complete functionality and scaled performance. Northrop Grumman has demonstrated an oxygen-iodine laser with exceptional chemical efficiency that exceeds design requirements.

Northrop Grumman, based in Cleveland, Ohio, built the world's first high-energy chemical laser in 1973 for the Department of Defense. Four years later, it integrated a high-energy laser with a beam director that successfully destroyed missiles in flight. More recently, Northrop Grumman built and demonstrated the world's only megawatt-class lasers including the MIRACL (Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser). MIRACL was built for the U.S. Navy and was delivered to the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands Missile Range, N. M. It has been integrated with a beam director and used to destroy a variety of targets, including cruise missiles and theater ballistic missiles.

Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, operating out of Sunnyvale, Calif., draws on extensive beam control experience in programs like Talon Gold, the Large Optics Demonstration Experiment, Starlab, and the ground-based Free Electron Laser Beam Control system. The most recent example of key Lockheed Martin experience in large optics and high- precision pointing systems for high energy laser weapons is the Zenith Star program.

Boeing has a long history of successful large-scale systems integration such as the International Space Station. Boeing is the industry leader in modification of its 747 aircraft to perform unique missions ranging from the Space Shuttle transporter to Air Force One.

In 1994, Team ABL was one of two contractor teams chosen to conduct separate Airborne Laser conceptual design studies. The Air Force will use the proposals submitted today to select a single PDRR phase contractor. The PDRR award, to be announced in January 1997, will initiate design, integration and test of an Airborne Laser prototype weapon system with residual operational capability.

This PDRR system will demonstrate that all key technologies can be successfully integrated onto an airborne platform to shoot down a missile at long range. Following a successful PDRR program, the U.S. Air Force will proceed with a follow-on Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract for a fully operational system. The PDRR system will provide the Air Force with a residual operational capability, which is scalable and traceable to the EMD weapon system.

"All of the studies conducted by the Air Force demonstrate that the Airborne Laser is the prudent-risk, affordable solution to the problem of defending against theater ballistic missiles in the boost phase," Shennum said.

"Decades of work have brought us to the point where the Airborne Laser no longer requires a technological breakthrough. It is a matter of a systems engineering challenge," Shennum added. "Extensive simulations of our proposed design show its mission effectiveness in highly stressful scenarios. That gives us great confidence that we can successfully meet all of the Air Force program objectives."