1945:

The concept of the airborne laser and directed-energy weapons has, to quote the old Virginia Slims cigarette advert slogan, “come a long way, baby.” Back in 2002 when I was a 2nd Lieutenant at Air Battle Manager School (training for AWACS and JSTARS) at Tyndall AFB, Florida, there was quite a bit of buzz about the ABL system being mated with a converted Boeing 747 as the launching platform; testing had already begun back in 1996. One of our guest speakers at the Tyndall AFB Officer Club’s Friday “Warrior Calls” was then-Col. (now retired four-star General) Lori Robinson, who spoke with considerable enthusiasm about the prospects for the system’s future success.

Another strong advocate of the ABL concept was, and still is, Riki Ellison, Chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) – And yes, folks, the same Riki Ellison who won a college football national championship with the USC Trojans and three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers – As Riki explains…

Click here to read the full article