WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The troubled and delayed U.S. Airborne Laser program received a welcome boost last week.
Lockheed Martin announced Friday that the performance of the fully integrated beam control/fire control system for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) has been confirmed in a series of ground tests.
The tests, which verified the performance of the recently installed illuminator lasers with the rest of the beam control/fire control system
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Lockheed Martin said its beam control/fire control system "employs two illuminator lasers to accurately point and focus ABL's high-energy laser: the Raytheon-developed tracking illuminator, which determines the range to a target and where to point the high-energy laser; and, the Northrop Grumman-developed beacon illuminator, which is used to measure the atmosphere and compensate the beam of the high-energy laser."
"The tests demonstrated the ability to control the path of the illuminator lasers and to control the high-energy laser beam as it travels at the speed of light toward its target. The program achieved a large majority of the objectives of the ground tests and expects to satisfy the remaining ones in the coming months. Lockheed Martin conducted the tests with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency
www.winterstiefelsale.com, ABL prime contractor Boeing and industry partner Northrop Grumman," the company said in its statement.
"The results of the testing underscore the soundness of our technical approach," said Art Napolitano, ABL program director, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "We functionally demonstrated ABL's ability to locate and track a target
ugg støvletter, illuminate the target to compensate for atmospheric disturbances and then precisely focus a surrogate laser beam on the target to destroy it."
Lockheed Martin said the ground testing program verified the alignment of the optical components that are designed to guide the lasers to the designated target. The tests also showed "the end-to-end capability to control and fire the illuminator lasers" and proved "the capabilities of the beam control/fire control system and the Boeing-developed battle management system to track and target a ballistic missile, using a simulated target."
The company said the tests also "proved the ability to control a low-power surrogate for the high-energy laser and fire it at a simulated target."
Lockheed Martin said the ABL testing program will next focus on the in-flight testing of the fully integrated beam control/fire control system. The Northrop Grumman-developed high-energy laser is said to have reached lethal power and run-times in a ground laboratory in 2005. It is currently scheduled to be installed in an ABL aircraft in 2007 to prepare for the program's missile shoot-down test in 2008.
"ABL will provide the response necessary to destroy a ballistic missile during its boost phase, while it is still climbing in the Earth's atmosphere and before it can deploy its warheads," Lockheed Martin said.
Boeing is the prime contractor for ABL and provides the modified aircraft and the battle management system. It is also the overall systems integrator. Northrop Grumman makes the high-energy laser and the beacon illuminator laser and Lockheed Martin produces the nose-mounted turret and the beam control/fire control system.
Russian defense minister issues new BMD warning
Russia will take "precautionary measures" in response to U.S. plans to deploy anti-ballistic missile systems in Eastern Europe
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"I would not want to create the impression that we are afraid of that," said Russian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, according to a report carried by Russia's official RIA Novosti news agency. "It will require some modification in our force development policy, and Russia will need to take some precautionary measures."
Ivanov ridiculed U.S. and European concerns that the new ABM deployments were necessary to protect European nations against the future threat of Iranian missiles that might eventually carry nuclear warheads. "The purported goal (of the deployment) is to intercept Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have never existed and will not exist in the foreseeable future," he said.
Ivanov was speaking a week after Russia's Chief of the General Staff
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"The issue should be clarified whether the missile defense system in Europe will be developed jointly with Russia
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NATO pushes ahead on ALTBMD plans
Ignoring the repeated diplomatic warnings from senior Russian officials, NATO is pushing with its proposed Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense program.
Armaments directors of the 26 NATO alliance nations were briefed last week on the ALTBMD program at their bi-annual meeting on Oct. 25-26, the Brussels-based alliance said in a statement.
"NATO is moving toward signature of the first major contract" for the ALTBMD program at the next NATO summit in the Latvian capital Riga, the alliance said.
"On the broader issue of territorial missile defense
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www.uggpanett.com, territory and forces from the full range of missile threats," the NATO statement said.about：
