Israel Develops Anti-missile System for Civilian Planes

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 02, 2003

Israel Develops Anti-missile System for Civilian Planes

Israel has developed an airborne system designed to divert missiles fired at civilian passenger airplanes, leading Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported Wednesday.

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Israel has developed an airborne system designed to divert missiles fired at civilian passenger airplanes, leading Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported Wednesday.

The system, slated for use by the national carrier, El Al, and Arkia, was created by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Israel Military Industries (IMI).

It has already been presented to the Civil Aviation Authority and is awaiting certification by the Israel Airports Authority, according to the report.

The development of the system was accelerated in the wake of a failed attempt to bring down an Israeli passenger jet taking off from Mombasa, Kenya, with two shoulder-launched missiles last November.

The operational demands of the system, as laid out by the government and Civil Aviation Authority, were to provide an answer to the threat of missile attacks during takeoffs and landings.

In addition, the decoy system was required to have a range of hundreds of meters.

Elta Electronics Industries of Ashdod, a subsidiary of IAI and a world leader in the development of radar systems, manufactured sensors, sensitive to heat emitted from the engine of a shoulder-launched missile, that are fitted on an airplane's outer casing.

The IMI specializes in the development of decoys -- explosive-like devices that are fitted on the exterior of the aircraft under the wing.

When the sensor picks up and identifies the engine of a shoulder-launched missile, it transmits an instruction for the decoy to detach itself from the aircraft and fly off in the opposite direction of the passenger jet's flight path. The missile is thus diverted from its original path and targets the decoy.

Till now, such a decoy system has been developed only to provide the protection for fighter aircraft.

The IMI has developed the Tactical Air-Launched Decoy (TALD) system, which is used by the Israel Air Force and fighter planes of the US Navy currently in operation in Iraq.

The primary innovation in the new system is that it provides the protection for civilian aircraft during takeoffs and landings, deemed the most vulnerable stages of flight.

The report said that once the system is purchased by Israeli airlines, foreign carriers will be quick to follow.

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