The next three years are critical for the Airborne Laser program, as prime contractor Boeing prepares to install the multimegawatt-class laser components onto a modified 747-400 freighter and flight test the boost-phase missile defense technology. Successes last year have prompted more upbeat remarks from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) following years of wrangling with the underpinning technologies for the Airborne Laser (ABL) program. After a virtual standstill regarding a promised graduation exercise including the shootdown of a Scud-representative missile, MDA now envisions the test for 2008 at the earliest, more than five years later than original plans.
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