An airborne instrument for fast-response, high-precision measurement of tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) was developed using a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) resonance fluorescence technique. The excitation radiation is obtained by a DC discharge CO resonance lamp combined with an optical filter for the CO fourth positive band emission around 150 nm. The optical filter consists of a VUV monochromator and a crystalline quartz window (<147-nm cutoff). The crystalline quartz window ensures a sharp discrimination against wavelengths below 135.7 nm that yield a positive interference from water vapor. Laboratory tests showed that the optical system achieved a precision of 1.1 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) at a CO concentration of 100 ppbv for a 1-s integration period, and the flow system provided a response time (1/e time constant) of ~2 s. The aircraft measurement campaign Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment-phase B (BIBLE-B) was conducted between August and September 1999 over the western Pacific and Australia. The flight data obtained during this campaign were used to demonstrate the high precision and fast response of the instrument. An intercomparison of the VUV CO measurement and a gas chromatographic CO measurement was conducted during BIBLE-B. Overall, these two independent measurements showed good agreement, within the experimental uncertainties. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union