During the last few years enormous technical progress has been achieved in the development of ultrashort pulse lasers. The new generation of these laser systems are near the threshold to innovative applications in industrial environments for precision materials processing. As a consequence, an increasing demand for optical components with high laser damage resistance and extended lifetime can be noticed. In order to investigate the damage threshold and lifetime, the existing multiple-pulse laser-induced damage measurement facility at the Laser Zentrum Hannover has been adapted for the ultrashort pulse regime. During our measurements, the most important substrate materials and selected model layer systems were investigated, and the influence of optimized coating processes was studied. The reslut indicate a distinct reduction of the damage threshold with the exposed pulse number.