Continuing schedule and technical problems have forced the Missile Defense Agency to shelve the idea of using the Airborne Laser on an emergency basis over the next two years, according to the administration's fiscal year 2005 defense budget request. Before the request, the agency had been on record as stating the ABL -- a Boeing 747-400 aircraft that carries a chemical oxide laser -- could provide "contingency capability, if directed, that offers rudimentary protection of the United States." However, "In...
