YAL-1 Airborne Laser
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser was cancelled in 2011 and scrapped in 2014.
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) weapons system is a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside a modified Boeing 747-400F. It is primarily designed as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs), similar to the Scud, while in boost phase.
YAL-1
Current status
The Airborne Laser programme was cancelled in December 2011 after roughly 16 years and some $5 billion of development. The single YAL-1 made its last flight on 12 February 2012 to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, was stored there, and was scrapped in September 2014.
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
|---|---|
| Variant | Boeing YAL-1 |
| Status | Cancelled 2011; scrapped 2014 |
More in Special Boeing 747s
Special Boeing 747s
Boeing 747s built for jobs no airliner does — Air Force One, the E-4B, Dreamlifter, Shuttle Carrier, Airborne Laser and the SOFIA observatory.
747 ASB (Advanced Short Body)
Announced in 1986 against the Airbus A340 and MD-11, the 747 ASB paired a shortened fuselage with 747-400 technology. It was never built.
747 CMCA - Cruise Missile Carrier Aircraft
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747 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) Dreamlifter
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SOPHIA - Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
SOFIA carried a 2.5 m infrared telescope in a converted 747SP for NASA and DLR. The mission ended in 2022 and the aircraft is now a museum exhibit.
Boeing 747 AAC (Airborne Aircraft Carrier)
In the early 1970s Boeing studied a 747 airborne aircraft carrier able to launch and recover parasite microfighters in flight.