The Missile Defense Agency hopes a contract it recently awarded to Lockheed Martin will help shore up the fragile industrial base for optics used in the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, according to a Defense Department official.

The 10-year contract, which is worth up to $250 million to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. of Sunnyvale, Calif., also is designed to make the optics production process consistent and reliable, the official told The DAILY Aug. 27 in an e-mail responding to questions.

The ABL's optics are lenses and mirrors that are to guide the kill laser and two support lasers. The optics receive special coatings to protect them from heat generated by the lasers and to help direct the laser beams.

The beam control/fire control system, the most intricate component on the ABL, contains scores of lenses and mirrors ranging in size from a half dollar to 5.57 feet in diameter.

The DOD official said the contract, announced Aug. 22, will help "sustain critical coating and large optics vendors." Air Force Col. Ellen Pawlikowski, the ABL program director, has described the ABL industrial base as "very small" and "fragile" because there are not many DOD programs that require the specialized items needed for the ABL, including large optics and optical coatings (DAILY, May 7, 2002).

Even the ABL program's demand for optics is limited. The program currently has just one aircraft, a Boeing 747-400 freighter. The second aircraft, also a 747-400 freighter (DAILY, Aug. 21), is not scheduled for delivery until fiscal 2005.

Work performed under the new contract will focus on improving the optics production process, such as by making the process "repeatable," the DOD official said.

"Repeatability is important because it will ensure consistent coatings and reduce the risk of having to strip and recoat optics," the official said.

The ABL is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight. The program plans to conduct its first shootdown test in early calendar 2005.