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10 May 2005 |
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http://www.strategiy.com/inews.asp?id=20050510112555 |
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BAE Systems has been granted US$45 million to build and test laser based prototypes of missile defence systems for commercial aeroplanes. Since the 1970s over 700,000 portable surface-to-air missiles have been produced and the location of thousands of these systems is unknown. The compact design and low price of man portable defence systems (Manpads) means they can easily find themselves in the wrong hands. Terrorists have shown they are prepared to use these systems against civil aircraft. There have been 35 such attacks on commercial aircraft so far; leading to 24 crashes and 600 fatalities. Such is the potential danger to commercial aircraft from man portable defence systems (Manpads) that the US Department of Homeland Security has initiated a US$10 billion project to provide missile protection systems for commercial airlines. "The threat from these systems is very real indeed," said John Neilson, Director of Media Relations at BAE Systems, "A successful attack on an airliner would be catastrophic, potentially killing hundreds of people and with an economic impact of tens of millions of dollars." The study in America is being closely monitored by the commercial aviation industry as the US may make it mandatory for any aircraft entering US airspace to be fitted with a missile defence system. The system being developed by BAE Systems, the only defence and aerospace company with a strong presence in Europe and North America, uses lasers to 'blind' the missile. Sensors detect the threat and then focus laser energy on the missile's guidance system. "We have tested the system with active missiles," said Neilson. "The system has an extremely high probability of detecting the threat and false alarm rates are very low. The added advantage is that the crew have to do nothing - the system is totally automatic." BAE Systems, he explained, has deep experience with this technology on military platforms and has equipped more military aircraft with countermeasures than all other competitors. "We believe a laser based solution to be the most suitable for the modern commercial aviation environment," said Neilson. "The threat is an increasing concern and fitting these systems would mark significant progress in safeguarding airliners and their passengers."
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