Comprehensive aircraft modification largest ever in Wichita

After the most extensive modification ever performed at a Boeing facility, the first Airborne Laser (ABL) ballistic missile-defense system aircraft is progressing toward flight-worthiness testing in Wichita, Kan.

Team ABL -- Boeing (NYSE: BA), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: Northrop Grumman) and the U.S. Air Force -- has moved the revolutionary aircraft to the flight ramp from the Boeing modification center, and is preparing it for ground- and flight-tests later this summer. Aircraft 00-0001 is the initial airborne platform for the ABL system.

The 747-400 Freighter modification effort dwarfed others accomplished at Boeing. Approximately 1.6-million employee hours were invested in the operation to transform the freighter into a revolutionary airborne defender against ballistic missile attack. The ABL project used some 5,500 drawing sheets in the transformation. Air Force One aircraft "mods" averaged 3,500 drawing sheets, according to Mark Dannar, Boeing modification program manager.

Dannar said 36,000 parts were installed in the aircraft so that it can ultimately accept the heart of the system -- the high-energy laser -- when it is installed later at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The company previously modified 747 aircraft for the presidential Air Force One fleet, and has undertaken other large-scale military system modifications for the 767 AWACS surveillance fleet, 747 Space Shuttle Carrier, and military tanker aircraft.

Team ABL is developing the revolutionary airborne boost-phase missile defense system under direction from the Missile Defense Agency. The ABL system will use a megawatt-class chemical laser aboard the aircraft to shoot down missiles in the boost phase. The high-power laser is coupled with a revolutionary optical system capable of focusing a basketball-sized spot of heat on the missile skin. The laser and optical systems are controlled by a sophisticated computer system that can simultaneously track and prioritize potential targets.

Following flight-worthiness testing in Wichita, the aircraft will be flown to Everett, Wash., and will be painted. It then will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for final systems integration. At Edwards, sophisticated laser equipment developed by teammates Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will be installed prior to missile shoot-down demonstrations.

"The successful completion of the modification work in Wichita is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our people there, as well as all the other Team ABL members who have contributed so much to reach this milestone," said Scott Fancher, Boeing vice president and ABL program director.

The aircraft's two-axis nose turret, built by ABL teammate Lockheed Martin, was the largest and most distinctive piece of added structure. The turret is the sub-system from which a precisely focused laser beam will be aimed at a boosting ballistic missile.

A critical challenge for the modification team was installing a "floating" pressure bulkhead to protect crew members from the laser equipment in the aircraft's aft section. The massive structure "floats" in order to conform to flexing of the aircraft's structure during flight.

The largest single piece of hot-formed titanium ever manufactured was attached to the plane's aft underside. The super-strong structure was added to accommodate 36 exhaust ports drilled through the skin, through which laser ejector tubes exhaust chemical gases out of the aircraft.

The Maintenance and Modification Center team also installed the Battle Management system suite -- the "brains" of the ABL system. The system will process and direct system commands, as well as communicate with other ballistic-missile defense systems.

The next major program milestone is flight-worthiness testing in Wichita. The aircraft is undergoing complete systems functional checks and flight tests to verify aerodynamic performance, and surveillance system checkout. Flight-testing is to begin this summer.

Boeing is the ABL team leader and is responsible for developing the ABL surveillance battle-management system, integrating the weapon system and supplying the modified aircraft. Northrop Grumman is providing the complete chemical oxygen-iodine laser system. Lockheed Martin is developing the beam control/fire control system, which will acquire the target, then accurately point and fire the laser.

Boeing Space & Communications (S&C), with headquarters in Seal Beach, Calif., is the world's largest space and communications company. S&C provides integrated solutions in launch services, human space flight and exploration, missile defense, and information and communications. It is NASA's largest contractor; a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; and a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The global enterprise has customers worldwide and manufacturing operations throughout the United States and Australia.

For the latest news about the ABL program, visit the website at www.airbornelaser.com.