Airborne Laser (ABL): Issues for Congress

Abstract

The United States has pursued a variety of ballistic missile defense concepts and programs over the past fifty years. Since the 1970s, some attention has focused on directed energy weapons, such as high-powered lasers for missile defense. Today, the Airborne Laser (ABL) program is the furthest advanced of these directed energy weapons and remains the subject of some technical and program debate. The Department of Defense (DOD) has been a strong advocate for the ABL and its predecessor programs. The Defense Department and most missile defense advocates argue that the ABL, which is designed to shoot down attacking ballistic missiles within the first few minutes of their launch, is a necessary component of any broader U.S. ballistic missile defense system. Congress has largely supported the Administration's ABL program.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 18, 2005
Accession Number
ADA454463

Entities

People

  • Christopher Bolkman
  • Steven A. Hildreth

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Chemical Oxygen Iodine Lasers
  • Commercial Aircraft
  • Congress
  • Defense Systems
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • Governments
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Lasers
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Rockets
  • Space Systems
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Theater Ballistic Missiles
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy