August 18, 2003. Copyright 2002. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Quest to combat shoulder-held missiles

LONDON, August 18, Graphic News: The shoulder-fired missile at the centre of an FBI sting has sent security experts scrambling to counter the threat to commercial aircraft.

The missile -- a Russian-made SA-18 Igla -- is the latest in the SA-7 series of man-portable surface-to-air missiles that have fallen into terrorist hands. It is thought to have been responsible for the downing of as many as 12 of the 29 coalition aircraft lost in the 1991 Gulf war, as well as an American F-117 Stealth fighter over Serbia in 1999.

Much more advanced than the SA-7 Strelas used in recent unsuccessful attacks on an Israeli jet in Kenya and a U.S. military plane in Saudi Arabia last year, the Igla is hardened against existing self-protection equipment currently available to commercial airlines.

ÒAn airliner is most at risk on takeoff when itÕs loaded with fuel,Ó said Patrick Bar-Avi of Rafael, the Israel Armament Development Authority. It can be ambushed up to 30 miles (50km) from the airport before it climbs to a safe cruising altitude. The SA-18 Igla is capable of hitting an aircraft flying at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,570m), from as far away as three miles (5km).

Israel began developing systems to counteract shoulder-launched missile attacks 30 years ago. In 1973 the Italian police arrested five Palestinian militants from ÒBlack SeptemberÓ in an apartment overlooking the runway at RomeÕs international airport. The terrorists were caught just as they were about to launch an SA-7 missile against an El-Al airliner taxiing into position for takeoff. 

The lamp-based, infrared jamming systems -- which are used by some Israeli airliners and executive jets -- detect the infrared signature of a threat missile then scramble the missileÕs guidance system with an intense strobe light.

Lamp-based technology can combat missiles in the SA-7 to SA-14-class, but a high-power laser is required to defeat the seeker technology in more modern SA-16 and 18 missiles such as the Igla. 

Meanwhile, airlines, already stung by additional security costs stemming from the September 11 attacks, have questioned whether the military technology would be effective. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority has voiced concerns that if flare-based decoy systems were used over populated areas they could spark fires on the ground. 

The U.S. and UK governments have jointly invested nearly $1 billion in developing a high-power laser directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system known as Nemesis. During live fire trials earlier this year Nemesis -- mounted on a remotely controlled helicopter -- defeated 12 attacks by production standard surface-to-air missiles. Installed on transport and refuelling aircraft, Nemesis saw action during the recent Iraq conflict.

The Israeli government recently recommended appropriating $40 million to instal DIRCM on its civilian airliners, and the U.S. Congress has set aside $60 million for the Department of Homeland Security to study the use of DIRCM. A bill was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (Democrat, NY) this year to equip AmericaÕs 6,800 commercial airliners with DIRCM systems. But it has languished amid concerns over its estimated $10 billion price-tag -- around $1.5 million per aircraft.
/ENDS

Sources: Aviation Week, Marconi Avionics Group, Northrop Grumman