July 18, 2002

On This Day in History /
2002:  The Airborne Laser (ABL), a highly modified Boeing 747-400F, made its first flight. The world’s first directed-energy combat aircraft had a rotating nose turret with a 5-foot diameter telescope to focus and direct a laser to destroy ballistic missiles in flight.
Boeing completed initial modifications to a new 747-400F off the production line in 2002, culminating in its first flight from Boeing’s Wichita, Kansas, facility. Ground testing of the COIL resulted in its successful firing in 2004. The renamed YAL-1 was assigned to the 417th Flight Test Squadron Airborne Laser Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB. The aircraft was retired in September 2014.