Renewed Interest in Defending Civilian Airlines Raised by MH17 Downing, Israel Flight Ban Homeland Security News Wire (07/28/14) Surface-to-air missiles, which include either shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles (MANPADS) or truck-mounted systems, may be a significant threat to civilian aviation. There are more than 500,000 MANPADS around the world, some of which are in the possession of terrorist groups. Several defense contractors have developed technologies to defend against MANPADS. Northrop Grumman and BAE are working to adapt the militarys laser-based defense system for civilian use, and Raytheon has developed a Vigilant Eagle ground-based system that protects the airspace above and around airports rather than individual aircraft. Some studies estimate that equipping the entire U.S. commercial fleet with anti-MANPADS devices could cost as much as $7 billion and take 20 years.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:40:03 +0000
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