Raytheon Company has delivered
the first Track Illuminator Laser (TILL) to Lockheed Martin for use in the
U.S. Air Force’s Airborne Laser (ABL) missile defense program.
The ABL TILL is the first diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser that has qualified for
flight operation aboard a military aircraft.
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems’ TILL will be integrated with the beam
transfer optics for an end-to-end test of the ABL’s Beam Control/Fire Control
system at the Lockheed Martin ABL test facility in Sunnyvale, CA.
TILL is an integral part of the Beam Control/Fire Control system and will
project rapid, powerful pulses of light to a small section of a boosting
missile threat. The light will then be reflected back to an extremely
sensitive camera. The reflected light data is used to obtain information about
the threat’s speed and elevation.
This month, Raytheon began technology development work on a variant of the
TILL system to extend performance and accuracy. The company also began
production of spare components.
In March 2001, Raytheon’s TILL was the first of four critical ABL solid-
state lasers to conduct a successful ‘first light’ test at its High Energy
Laser Center in El Segundo, Calif.
Team ABL – Boeing, Lockheed Martin and TRW — is developing the
revolutionary airborne boost-phase missile defense system under the direction
of the U.S. Air Force and Missile Defense Agency. The ABL system will use a
megawatt-class chemical laser aboard a modified 747-400F to shoot down
missiles in the boost phase. Boeing is the ABL team leader and is responsible
for developing the surveillance battle-management system, integrating the
weapon system and supplying the modified aircraft. TRW is providing the
complete chemical oxygen-iodine laser system. Lockheed Martin is developing
the beam control/fire control system, which will acquire the target, then
accurately point and fire the laser.
Raytheon is a leader in a broad range of missile defense technologies and
initiatives, including the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, Space Based Infrared
System (SBIRS) Low, Airborne Laser’s Track Illuminator Laser, the Ground-Based
Radar-Prototype, X-Band Radar, Upgraded Early Warning Radar and the PAVE PAWS
Early Warning Radar for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment. The
company also supports Sea-based Midcourse and Terminal Defense, provides the
Ground-Based Radar element for the Theater High-altitude Area Defense program,
and its Patriot systems continue to be mainstays for theater ballistic missile
defense. Raytheon is the prime contractor and integrator for the PAC-3 system
and continues to provide the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for many
U.S. and Allied forces.
Space and Airborne Systems business is a $3 billion world leader in the
design, development, and manufacture of advanced electronic systems for
precision strike; missile defense; and intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance applications. Key capabilities include electro-optical/infrared
sensors, airborne radars, space-qualified systems, solid state and high energy
lasers, precision guidance systems, and electronic warfare systems.
Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Space and Airborne Systems has 9,300
employees and additional facilities in Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; and
Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas.
With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon Company is a
global technology leader in defense, government and commercial electronics,
and business and special mission aircraft.
Note to Editors: For ABL program information, visit:
http://airbornelaser.com/special/abl/ and for more information about Raytheon
Company’s layered missile defense solutions,
