Able One

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Although this is a work of fiction, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Airborne Laser program actually exists. It consists of a megawatt-plus laser mounted in a specially modified Boeing 747-400F four-engined jet aircraft, much as described in this novel. The purpose of the system is to shoot down ballistic missiles soon after they are launched, while their rocket engines are still burning and they are quite vulnerable.

The program’s principal contractors include three major aerospace corporations:

Boeing: 747-400F aircraft; active ranging system; battle management system

Northrop Grumman: high-energy chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL); advanced resonator alignment system; laser fuel supply

Lockheed Martin: laser beam control system; illuminator optical bench; nose-mounted turret

This novel could not have been written without the generous assistance of Colonel M. V. “Coyote” Smith, USAF, Scott Herman, Judy Reemtsma, and many others who provided invaluable information and insights. The accuracy of this work is in large part due to them; any errors of fact are my fault, not theirs. However, this is a work of fiction, so I have felt free to extrapolate from what is known today, where necessary to the story.

Ben Bova

Naples, Florida July 2009