If Seven Planes Cost $7 Billion, That Is 9 Percent Of 9/11 Damage In New York City Alone; $50,000-70,000 Per Missile Hit By ABL A Fraction Of Interceptor Cost
Will Israel Be Interested In Purchasing ABL?
The Airborne Laser (ABL) ballistic missile defense (BMD) system might cost $1 billion per airplane, but that cost could be cut substantially if Congress moves promptly to purchase several of the aircraft, experts said.
Even if there were no cost cut, and seven planes needed to provide 24/7 coverage of key areas cost $7 billion, that still would be just 9 percent of the $80 billion in damage to part of Manhattan that was wrought by the 9/11 terrorist attackers, a figure that doesn’t count damage to the Pentagon, or the value of thousands of lives lost.
And those terrorists didn’t use weapons of mass destruction.
While an ABL aircraft may have a hefty price tag, it nonetheless is by far the cheapest way to take out an enemy missile at its most vulnerable point, just after it has lifted off from the launch pad.
The ABL can shoot a laser to kill an enemy missile, at a cost of perhaps $50,000 to $70,000 per weapon demolished, far less than the other main form of missile defense in which a U.S. interceptor missile costing perhaps $500,000 uses a physical collision with an enemy missile to kill it.
That estimate of $50,000 to $70,000 came from retired Lt. Gen. Michael Dunn, president and CEO of the Air Force Association. He and Air Force Col. Robert McMurry, commander of the ABL program office, spoke at a media briefing offered by the George C. Marshall Institute, a defense-oriented think tank in Washington, D.C., that also was attended by Michael L. Rinn, vice president and program director of the airborne laser program with The Boeing Co. [BA].
The ABL involves a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet contributed by Boeing, the prime contractor in the program. It is outfitted with laser gear by Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] and a beam control/fire control system by Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT].
The ABL, Dunn stressed, provides “a cheap shot” means for dispatching enemy missiles.
Currently in development, the test-bed ABL system next year, while in flight, will attempt to kill a target missile. The various separate components of the system already have shown they can work, and the program is on budget and on schedule.
But some lawmakers still are cool to the program, and have attempted to cut its funding.
Ironically, however, those lawmakers would drive up ABL costs per plane if they attempt to delay procurement of a second and later aircraft long after the test next year, briefers said.
McMurry said he would “like to do it sooner rather than later.” While he said the cost might be $1 billion a plane, given that life cycle costs are significant, to obtain cost savings one must have a stable, predictable program.
Another factor militating for swift procurement of ABL aircraft is that in some cases, few firms produce key components needed for the laser system, such as deformable mirrors, coatings and more, Rinn said. In some cases, only one firm may be left to produce such items.
Dunn said costs of a plane can vary widely, depending on whether one includes design costs, development costs, overhead costs or other items — or whether one merely calculates how much it costs to buy and fly the next plane coming off the production line, which is what lawmakers often use. That last price would be much lower.
Allied nations may be interested in the ABL, Dunn said, including Israel.
No nation suffers as many missile attacks as Israel, which is attacked by terrorist groups from both the west, the Gaza Strip, and the north, Lebanon.