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ABL Fires High-Powered Laser Through Beam Control For First Time; New ABL Uses Seen

By Dave Ahearn The Airborne Laser (ABL) scored an important first when it fired a high-powered megawatt class laser weapon through a beam control/fire control nose turret on a highly modified Boeing [BA] 747-400F jumbo jet aircraft, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Boeing said yesterday. A Boeing program leader also disclosed that the company and its teammates are investigating potential new uses for the ABL system beyond killing enemy missiles shortly after they are launched, with those potential new…

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Congress Updates

HASC’s Final FY ‘27 NDAA Expands Systems Eligible For Multi-Years, Includes LTAMDS, IBCS, ARRW

House defense authorizers added a measure to their version of the next defense policy bill that would expand the list of weapons platforms eligible for multi-year contracts, to include the […]


HASC Bill Would Allow Air Force To Buy More Than 267 F-15EXs

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill would allow the Air Force to buy more than 267 F-15EX fighters by Boeing [BA] and would extend the […]


Defense Bill Tries To Block Foreign Shipbuilding, Adds $1 Billion For Second DDG

The final version of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal year 2027 defense authorization bill included two amendments pushed by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) that restrict procuring Navy warships […]


Replacement Munitions May Not Be One-for-One; May Include New Weapons Chemistries, Wittman Says

As the Pentagon looks to refill inventories of weapons used in Iran and elsewhere, replacements may not be one for one but instead mark a new portfolio mix, according to […]