In 1996, the blue-beam air-to-ground tactical laser was test-fired from an AC-130 (AC-X Son of Spectre) aircraft at the northern annex of the White Sands Proving Grounds near Fort Wingate, New Mexico. Raytheon was later awarded the contract to add the High Energy Microwave Weapon to the same platform where both systems would be operationally available for combat use at the same time. Boeing announced that on December 4, 2007 the installation of the laser on the C-130H Hercules was completed in preparation for further testing and a demonstration in 2008.[citation needed]