BMD Watch: ABL COIL modules installed

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Boeing said in a statement last week that with its industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency it achieved a milestone for the Airborne Laser missile defense program with the installation of all six chemical oxygen iodine laser modules on the ABL aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

"ABL's weapon system integration team has done a tremendous job installing major components of the high-energy laser aboard the aircraft, and they remain on track to reach the missile shoot-down demonstration planned for 2009," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.

"Overall laser integration is more than 70 percent complete," Boeing said. "Once plumbing and wiring installation occurs and final inspections of the laser are complete, system activation and ground tests of the laser inside the aircraft will begin.

"Facilities, testing and safety procedures at Edwards are being upgraded to accommodate laser tests in the aircraft hangar."

Fancher said that by implementing lessons learned along with lean-plus process improvements, the team reduced laser installation time on the aircraft to about one-third from what was required when the laser modules were installed in the system integration laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base.

"The laser modules were demonstrated successfully in ground testing in late 2005 in the system integration laboratory at Edwards and completed the refurbishment phase in late 2007," Boeing said. "ABL's low-power beam control and fire control systems demonstrated their capability in 2007 by tracking an airborne target, measuring and compensating for atmospheric turbulence and firing a surrogate high-energy laser at the target. This dual-path approach demonstrated all of ABL's key technologies."

It said that integration of the high-energy laser in the aircraft will lead to ground and flight tests of the ABL weapon system, culminating in an airborne intercept test against a ballistic missile in 2009.

"The Airborne Laser consists of a modified Boeing 747-400F whose back half holds the high-energy laser, designed and built by Northrop Grumman," the company said. "The aircraft's front half contains the beam control/fire control system, developed by Lockheed Martin, and the battle management system, provided by Boeing," which is the prime contractor for ABL.

Northrop Grumman to make MEADS navigation system

Northrop Grumman said earlier this month it was picked by MBDA Italia to provide the navigation and localization system for NATO's Medium Extended Air Defense System program within the design and development phase.

MEADS is a jointly financed trans-Atlantic cooperative effort involving the United States, Germany and Italy to develop an air and missile defense system that is tactically mobile and transportable. In a statement, the company said Northrop Grumman's Italian subsidiary, Northrop Grumman Italia, will be responsible for the navigation and localization system that supports the radars and launchers that are part of the MEADS program.

"We have been providing military navigation systems and services to the Italian government as well as other European nations for nearly 50 years," said Giovanni Morelli, business development director for Northrop Grumman Italia. "The proven capabilities of our navigation systems will help enable MEADS to offer significant improvements over existing defense systems."

Northrop Grumman said MEADS is a planned replacement for Hawk and Patriot systems worldwide and is aimed at protecting maneuvering forces and fixed installations against current and next-generation missile threats, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft. It is designed for rapid deployment and tactical mobility.

"The design and development phase of the MEADS program first began in 2004 and is managed by MEADS International, a multinational joint venture between MBDA Italia in Italy, Lenkflugkorpersysteme -- LFK -- in Germany and Lockheed Martin in the United States," Northrop Grumman said.

Northrop Grumman Italia is part of Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division, with it headquarters in California. The subsidiary provides navigation systems and products used in air-, sea- and land-based applications and serves as a prime contractor for domestic Italian and European collaborative programs.

It provides products, maintenance and customer support services to the European domestic and international markets and has its own independent research, design, development, engineering and manufacturing facilities.