I'm having trouble finding a source for the 2002 firing claim that defencetech.org repeatedly uses in its coverage, however, from 2003 chronologically:-The original schedule was to conduct the first air-to-air shots in 2007 and deploy from 2009 onwards. This has now been pushed back to an initial test firing in 2009 with deployment (finances permitting) in 2012. Seven aircraft are to be built as the program is presently constituted.
Aviation Week quotes the program director on a test firing against a missile in 2004:-
AvWeek also reported back in 2004 there were rumblings about cancelling the program outright in the Pentagon, though more supported simply paring it back (as occured in 2006): "The Pentagon has already awarded Boeing a contact for design work on a second 747-400F that would be converted into a laser carrier. But the actual aircraft order may be delayed."But during the course of the next year all those elements will have to be integrated to confront one major remaining challenge: shooting down a boosting ballistic missile over the Pacific.
What lies ahead in the coming months is expected to be a difficult engineering endeavor. Program managers recognize that they still have to overcome high hurdles, and indicate the shootdown attempt is likely going to occur in 2005, not late 2004. "It gets more and more challenging to hold to the 2004 date," notes ABL program director USAF Col. Ellen M. Pawlikowski.
As I understand it, the first test was pared back from an actual shoot down to "first light". Aviation Week noted this was because of:
First light of course did happen."One reason ABL has fallen behind schedule stems from serious problems with component quality, Aviation Week says. "Around 800 components, largely in the laser area, were rejected when they were delivered because of shoddy workmanship, complained one industry official. Others argue that many components were being built for the first time, so unanticipated problems were encountered."
A recent Congressional report on the program notes that "specialized valves have been recalled twice, laser fluid management software has been delayed due to inadequate definition of requirements, and improperly cleaned plumbing and material issues have required over 3,000 hr. of unplanned work."
However, after first light in 2004, the price of the program basically insantly doubled to the tune of an extra $1.47 billion, according to Inside Missile Defence- and they were only "80%" sure that would
cover their costs.
As anticipated by AvWeek in 2004, this article notes the program was demoted to a demonstration project last year, with the second aircraft deferred to after the shoot-down test:-
And subsequent to this it was pushed to 2009.ABL officials now are solely focused on attempting to shoot down a target missile during a test the Missile Defense Agency has scheduled for late calendar year 2008. The agency has deferred the purchase of a second aircraft and the engineering studies needed for it until after the shoot-down test, the official told reporters the day the Defense Department unveiled its fiscal year 2007 budget. MDA and lead contractor Boeing continue to develop the first prototype 747-400 aircraft that will be used in the 2008 test.
The official called ABL “a different program now” and said it is considered a demonstration project “until shoot-down, then it will be serious time.”
The Air Force began the program in 1996, setting development costs at $2.5 billion and projecting that fielding would start in 2006. But by August 2001 the service revised its estimates, saying the cost would be about 50 percent more and the schedule stretched another four years, according to a July 2002 report by the Government Accountability Office. In October 2001, the Defense Department gave program management to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, MDA's predecessor.
