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.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
