Laser planned for 2009 test against missile

EDWARDS AFB – Sunday’s firings of a lethal, high-energy laser mounted inside a modified 747 aircraft are the first steps in the final test phase of the program, culminating in the planned shootdown of a missile in 2009, officials said Monday. The laser was run seven times in short – less than one second – bursts to determine if the systems was running properly. Longer duration runs are set for the coming days after engineers look at the initial data. For the full story visit www.avpress.com/n/10/0910_s6.hts