According to Air Force Col. John Daniels, Missile Defense Agency program lead on the Airborne Laser, the oft-quoted figure of $13 billion for the ABL program is wrong. He told a Marshall Institute roundtable audience that the $13 billion included not only development costs but also the cost for seven production aircraft and their operations and support costs over 20-30 years. Unfortunately, Daniels said it’s “hard to yank that out” of ABL brochures. He would not, however, offer a counter figure. Plans now call for MDA to build a second, improved ABL, said Daniels, adding that, until the agency completes studies on just how different the new aircraft will be, he cannot provide revised program costs.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
