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.
The Royal International Air Tattoo, one of the world’s biggest annual airshows, will permanently move from its longtime home of RAF Fairford, a longtime base for the U.S. Air Force, to a different military installation in the United Kingdom, its organizers announced Nov. 4.