Israeli Airliners to be outfitted with anti missile defense system
Israel will within weeks begin outfitting its airliners with defense systems designed to thwart missile attacks, Israeli military officials said.
The officials said the system fires flares that distract an incoming missile’s heat-seeking mechanism. It will be installed first on planes flying to destinations considered dangerous, especially in Africa and parts of Asia.
Other nations, including the United States and Singapore, have said they also were working on similar anti-missile defenses for jetliners. Some systems use flares to deflect missiles and others use lasers to jam a missile’s heat-seeking guidance equipment.
The need was recognized in 2002, when an Israeli passenger jet was targeted after takeoff by Islamic militants using shoulder-fired missiles outside Mombasa, Kenya. The rockets missed, but spurred Israel to find a way to protect its airliners with a defense similar to that already used by its air force.
Test installations were conducted several years ago, but the widespread fitting of the country’s commercial fleet was held up until this month by an argument over who would foot the bill, the government or El Al and Arkia airlines.
