Boeing

Boeing technicians in Wichita, Kan., begin to lower the cargo door of the 747-400 Freighter -- YAL-1A Attack Laser -- after the door pins were removed, which attached the door to the aircraft. This milestone, achieved earlier this month, is the first major step toward modifying the wide-body aircraft into the Airborne Laser war-fighter system. The U.S. Air Force and Team ABL, comprising Boeing, Lockheed Martin and TRW, are developing a high-energy chemical oxygen iodine laser to be carried aboard a 747-400 Freighter capable of shooting down theater ballistic missiles in boost phase while hundreds of miles from their launch site.