Boeing officials say the Airborne Laser team just completed tests that show the “lasing duration and power” of the high energy laser functions at levels “suitable for the destruction of multiple classes of ballistic missiles.” That should serve the program well should the Pentagon decide to move it forward from its post-QDR status as a technology demonstrator.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…