The Missile Defense Agency last week released a video of the Airborne Laser test aircraft engaging a target missile with its high-energy kill laser during a non-lethal test on Jan. 10 off of the California coast. According to MDA, this exercise “demonstrated the full functionality of the ABL system to successfully acquire, track, and engage a boosting target.” The purpose of this test was not to shoot down the instrumented target missile, but rather collect data on the performance of the ABL’s high-energy laser in support of the preparations for the first lethal missile-shootdown attempt later this year. (To see the video, go to MDA’s Airborne Laser news gallery.)
USAF F-35 Squadrons at Lakenheath Near Full Readiness
April 5, 2025
The U.S. Air Force is poised to fill out its full complement of F-35 fighters and reach full operational capability with two squadrons at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom this year, according to the head of the U.S. European Command.