An airborne laser destroys an aerial target for the first time when the Airborne Laser Laboratory (ALL), a modified KC-135 aircraft armed with a carbon dioxide laser, shot down a drone over White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Two years later, the ALL successfully shoots down five Sidewinder air- to-air missiles, proving its utility as an antimissile system.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.