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Editor's note: A name that was incorrect in a previous version of this story has been corrected.
In the more than 10 years of working with directed energy, the airborne laser program continues to do "ground-breaking science," a Boeing program leader said Wednesday.
The program's funding has been cut and so have the number of team members, Mike Rinn, Boeing vice president for directed energy systems, told reporters at a roundtable discussion.
But the Boeing Wichita-modified 747-400F aircraft used as the test bed continues to fly and undergo testing.
"There's much more to learn about the use of directed energy," Rinn said. "What's important is the data that comes out of these tests."
In early 2010, the aircraft engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile for the first time, a move Boeing hailed as the demonstration of the "speed, precision and breakthrough potential of high-energy weapons."
The Airborne Laser Testbed program uses high-energy speed-of-light chemical lasers to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles while still in their boost stage.
Boeing is the program's prime contractor.
The 747 has made almost 190 flights, said Debra Christman, spokeswoman for the Missile Defense Agency.
The program has also generated other follow-on programs, Christman said.
"Anytime you learn lessons like that, there's an awful lot of a-ha moments not done before," Christman said. "A whole lot has come out of this and will come out of this."
The program "has had lots of babies," she said.
For example, it has led to experiments with lasers mounted on jeeps and solid state lasers used on another aircraft.
It also has led to the construction of the next generation of a chemical oxygen iodine laser. It has been built and is undergoing testing at Kirkland Air Force Base, Christman said.
Boeing Wichita completed extensive structural modifications to the aircraft to prepare it to take on the laser system.
Over the years, the program has met with budgetary challenges from Congress.
If the program progresses to the point where Congress and the president earmark money for a second, follow-on aircraft, "we would re-evaluate everything, including the platform," Christman said.
There's a potential for a next aircraft to be smaller than the 747.
In the meantime, "we hope to continue to prove that directed energy is the way to go" to intercept missiles in mid-course, she said.
Boeing is working on a number of missile defense initiatives, officials said.
More than ever, a growing number of countries are interested in missile defense technology, Mira Ricardel, Boeing Strategic Missile and Defense Systems vice president for business development, said Wednesday.
The number of countries taking part in missile defense conferences, for example, expand each year, Ricardel said.
"You're getting serious participation of government and industry," she said.
