Sun, Feb 19, 2006
First Commercial Carrier To Use Flight Guard
El Al Airlines has
completed installation of anti-missile defense systems to all of
its aircraft, making the Israeli carrier the first commercial
airline to do so. The news comes less than two months after El Al announced the decision to
equip six planes in its fleet with the defense
systems.
Reuters reports all 29 aircraft owned by El Al have been fitted
with the Israeli-made "Flight Guard" missile diversion system,
which automatically shoots flares to throw off heat-seeking
shoulder-fired missiles. It is unclear if the system has also been
fitted to five planes the airline is leasing.
Other airlines are considering adapting the system, which costs
approximately $1 million per plane. That pricetag has hindered its
widespread use, with the Bush administration stating it may be more
cost effective to fit airports with missile defense systems in lieu
of outfitting individual planes.
El Al stepped up development on the system after an Israeli
passenger plane survived an Al-Qaeda missile attack over Kenya in
2002. A DHL A300 was almost brought down by a similar missile
attack over Iraq in 2004.
This isn't the first time El Al has been at the forefront of
safety precautions on its planes. With the constant threat of
terrorism looming, El Al flew amred air marshals on its planes long
before American adopted a similar policy after 9/11.
The system is designed to be effective against heat-seeking
missiles such as the Russian-made SA-7. Those types of missile are
widely available through the developing world, and are most likely
to be used by terrorist groups.
The makers of Flight Guard -- state-owned Israel Military
Industries and defense firm Elta -- admit their system would not be
effective against a radar-guided missile.
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