He219
04-22-2004, 02:07 PM
Israel Sees Missile-Protected El Al Plane by June
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (*******) - Israel is fitting El Al's aircraft with a pioneering anti-missile system amid growing airline fears of global terrorism, the Transport Ministry said Thursday.
El Al's first missile-protected plane should take off in June, but industry analysts said other companies were still likely to find the cost of such measures prohibitive.
Israel stepped up efforts to adapt military anti-missile systems for its civilian aircraft after an Israeli charter jet came under attack from shoulder-held missiles in Kenya in 2002.
The missiles, fired by al Qaeda-linked attackers, missed.
The ministry said an El Al passenger jet was being fitted with the Israeli-made "Flight Guard" system, which automatically releases diversionary flares if a heat-seeking missile is detected by an on-board sensor.
"We expect the first plane to be flying by June, and this is just the beginning of a comprehensive upgrade of the El Al fleet," a ministry spokesman said.
El Al is already regarded as the world's most security-conscious airline due to its stringent anti-hijacking precautions -- such as armed guards on all flights and very close pre-flight checks on passenger lists.
Aviation industry analysts said fitting military equipment to civilian planes would pose cost problems for many airlines, since such systems must be constantly serviced and make planes less aerodynamic -- which harms fuel consumption.
"There are a lot of expectations that cannot be met," said Goldman Sachs aerospace analyst Sash Tusa, referring to the feasibility of airlines embracing such technology.
Analysts said the likelihood of a shoulder-fired missile actually downing a civilian aircraft was remote, noting such aircraft are built to withstand the loss of an engine.
An Airbus A300 cargo plane flown by U.S. delivery firm DHL survived a missile strike over Baghdad last November.
The Israeli ministry spokesman declined to discuss budgets.
But aviation sources put the cost of the "Flight Guard," installed on the El Al jet by state-owned Israel Military Industries and Elta defense firm -- a unit of Israel Aircraft Industries -- at about $1 million each.
Aviation sources said Flight Guard is embedded out of sight in the plane's body to avoid drawing attention, and its flares are designed not to be a fire risk if they land in civilian areas.
Although it would be effective against heat-seeking missiles like the SA-7, produced in the former Soviet Union and widely available in the developing world, it would not be able to beat radar-guided missiles.
(Additional reporting by Jason Neely in London)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040422/ts_nm/security_elal_countermeasures_dc_2
http://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658239/DWF15-500382.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658257/DWF15-500357.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658236/DWF15-500385.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658250/DWF15-500368.jpg
Masked Iraqi terrorists, in the south of Baghdad, shoot a shoulder-launched missile (an SA-14 Gremlin and not an SA-7 Grail as initially reported by the US military) at a civilian DHL cargo jet, a few minutes after take-off, setting fire to the engine.
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (*******) - Israel is fitting El Al's aircraft with a pioneering anti-missile system amid growing airline fears of global terrorism, the Transport Ministry said Thursday.
El Al's first missile-protected plane should take off in June, but industry analysts said other companies were still likely to find the cost of such measures prohibitive.
Israel stepped up efforts to adapt military anti-missile systems for its civilian aircraft after an Israeli charter jet came under attack from shoulder-held missiles in Kenya in 2002.
The missiles, fired by al Qaeda-linked attackers, missed.
The ministry said an El Al passenger jet was being fitted with the Israeli-made "Flight Guard" system, which automatically releases diversionary flares if a heat-seeking missile is detected by an on-board sensor.
"We expect the first plane to be flying by June, and this is just the beginning of a comprehensive upgrade of the El Al fleet," a ministry spokesman said.
El Al is already regarded as the world's most security-conscious airline due to its stringent anti-hijacking precautions -- such as armed guards on all flights and very close pre-flight checks on passenger lists.
Aviation industry analysts said fitting military equipment to civilian planes would pose cost problems for many airlines, since such systems must be constantly serviced and make planes less aerodynamic -- which harms fuel consumption.
"There are a lot of expectations that cannot be met," said Goldman Sachs aerospace analyst Sash Tusa, referring to the feasibility of airlines embracing such technology.
Analysts said the likelihood of a shoulder-fired missile actually downing a civilian aircraft was remote, noting such aircraft are built to withstand the loss of an engine.
An Airbus A300 cargo plane flown by U.S. delivery firm DHL survived a missile strike over Baghdad last November.
The Israeli ministry spokesman declined to discuss budgets.
But aviation sources put the cost of the "Flight Guard," installed on the El Al jet by state-owned Israel Military Industries and Elta defense firm -- a unit of Israel Aircraft Industries -- at about $1 million each.
Aviation sources said Flight Guard is embedded out of sight in the plane's body to avoid drawing attention, and its flares are designed not to be a fire risk if they land in civilian areas.
Although it would be effective against heat-seeking missiles like the SA-7, produced in the former Soviet Union and widely available in the developing world, it would not be able to beat radar-guided missiles.
(Additional reporting by Jason Neely in London)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040422/ts_nm/security_elal_countermeasures_dc_2
http://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658239/DWF15-500382.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658257/DWF15-500357.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658236/DWF15-500385.jpghttp://cache.corbis.com/CorbisImage/thumb/14/65/82/14658250/DWF15-500368.jpg
Masked Iraqi terrorists, in the south of Baghdad, shoot a shoulder-launched missile (an SA-14 Gremlin and not an SA-7 Grail as initially reported by the US military) at a civilian DHL cargo jet, a few minutes after take-off, setting fire to the engine.