The Airborne Laser (formally the YAL-1A attack laser) is back at Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will undergo tests that include firing—for the first time—its two solid-state illuminator lasers. The lasers will fire at a target board on a missile-shaped image painted on the NC-135E Big Crow to verify that the system can track an airborne target. The aircraft recently underwent modification at Boeing’s Wichita, Kan., facility to install the beam control and fire control illuminators, among other additions.
Golden Dome Details Begin to Emerge
Dec. 7, 2025
The Golden Dome air and missile defense shield to protect the United States will have some “operational capability” in 2028, the program’s leader said Dec. 6 at the Reagan National Defense Forum.
