Tracking Camera Boosts Airborne Laser's Progress

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 24 -- The US Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) program took another step toward deployment when Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space accepted delivery of a camera critical for tracking long-range, hostile targets through turbulent atmosphere. The Electron-Bombarded Charge-Coupled Device (EBCCD) camera system -- developed by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intevac, Inc. -- is a sensitive imaging system able to operate with a high camera frame rate in extreme low-light environments. The EBCCD camera, the first of seven units scheduled for delivery by February 2000, will be used to test critical interfaces between the Airborne Laser's Wavefront and Fine Tracker/Ranger sensors and its Beam Control/Fire Control processor.