ABL Zapped?: The Administration budget axe may have a new target—the Airborne Laser. White House officials tell Reuters news service that the ABL is a “high-risk” program, making its continuation dicey as the Pentagon searches for programs to cut. As we reported earlier (see “Not Downbeat, Just Realistic”), ABL has had its share of technological difficulties. Still, USAF and the Missile Defense Agency, which oversees the program, expected it to succeed, just on a slower schedule.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
