The prototype Airborne Laser successfully used its passive sensors to autonomously locate, acquire, target, and track an afterburning F-16 fighter moving vertically at a rapid rate of ascent, Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency, said in a May 9 statement. It was the first such test for the ABL. Obering called it “a significant milestone” that demonstrated a “number of key system capabilities.” Obering has said that ABL is on course to pass a series of “knowledge points” leading to a lethal shootdown of a boosting missile in 2009; however, Congress may be inclined to curtail the program in favor of other priorities.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.