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WASHINGTON
— Tens of thousands of airline passengers will soon be flying on jets
outfitted with anti-missile systems as part of a new government test aimed at
thwarting terrorists armed with shoulder-fired projectiles.
Three
American Airlines Boeing 767-200s that fly daily round-trip routes between
New York and California will receive the anti-missile laser jammers this
spring, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which is spending
$29 million on the tests.
Jets will
fly with the jammer device mounted on the belly of the plane, between the
wheels. The device works with sensors, also mounted on the plane, that detect
a heat-seeking missile and shoot a laser at it to send the missile veering
harmlessly off course.
Anti-missile
systems have been tested on cargo planes. But "this is the first time
these systems have been tested on actual passenger airlines in commercial
service," says Burt Keirstead, director of commercial aircraft
protection at BAE Systems, which developed the anti-missile device. "It's
the ultimate consumer use of the equipment."
Officials
emphasize that no missiles will be test-fired at the planes, which will fly
between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and the
international airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The
purpose of the tests is to determine how well the laser-jamming technology
works on routine flights, how the devices affect fuel consumption and how
much maintenance they require, according to Keirstead.
Although
there has not been an attempt to take down a jet on U.S. soil with a
shoulder-fired missile, Homeland Security has warned about the possibility
because the portable, lightweight weapons can be bought on the black market
for as little as a few hundred dollars.
There
have been numerous deadly attacks on military jets and cargo planes overseas,
and several near collisions with passenger planes.
In 2002,
two shoulder-fired missiles narrowly missed an Israeli airliner jet as it
took off with 261 passengers in Mombassa, Kenya.
The
Defense Department uses laser-jamming technology on its planes, but using the
systems on commercial airliners is much more controversial because of
concerns about cost and maintenance.
"If
this is going to break down every other month vs. every fifth year, obviously
that's a big, big difference," says Jim Tuttle of the Homeland Security
Department's Science and Technology division.
Keirstead
says the systems could be installed for somewhere from $500,000 to $1 million
per plane, but it's unclear how much it would cost to maintain them. Airlines
have balked at paying the cost, and Congress would have to decide whether the
federal government would foot the bill.
American
Airlines spokesman John Hotard says company officials agreed to participate
in the tests in case Congress eventually requires airlines to install the
devices.
But
American is "philosophically opposed" to anti-missile technology on
commercial planes, he says. "When you look at the cost benefit, it would
be an extremely expensive proposition, and in the end, is it really going to
work?"
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