TEL AVIV Ñ The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will review
recommendations shelved for the last two years to develop and install
missile warning systems on all Israeli civilian aircraft.
Officials said the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has
concluded that Al Qaida would launch a series of attempts to down Israeli
aircraft, Middle East Newsline reported.
The officials said the recommendations of the National Security Council would be resubmitted and examined by the Defense Ministry and
Transportation Ministry in the wake of the failed Al Qaida attack on an Israeli
passenger airliner in Kenya last week. The recommendations called for the
completion of a missile warning system for civilian
aircraft and the mandatory installation on all Israeli airliners.
"We have been urging for this to begin for two years," Uzi Dayan, the
former head of the council, said.
Officials said the Transporation Ministry has approved funding for the
electronic warfare defense system for civilian airliners, developed by
Rafael, Israel Armament Development Authority. Other contractors are the
Elta Electronics Industries and Elisra Electronic Systems.
But the project will need additional funds to ensure completion and
deployment, officials said. The system is meant to warn airliners of
shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles and take measures to divert them. An
undetermined number of civilian aircraft already have missile-protection
systems.
"We could install defense systems against shoulder-fired missiles on
passenger planes within a few months," Rafael president Giora Shlagi said.
"Helicopters were already equipped with that kind of technology which would
only have to be adapted to civilian aircraft. The system is composed of
sensors that can detect the launching of a shoulder-fired missile at the
plane and a system intended to interfere with its flight.
Officials said they expect the SA-7 missile attack in Kenya to be the
first of a series of attempts to down Israeli passenger jets. They said
security
agencies have recommended that the defense system be quickly developed and
deployed.
Rafael's system protects aircraft by aiming a beam toward the missile
that simulates the heat of a jet engine, officials said. At that point, the
missile, seeking the warmest part of the aircraft, would be diverted. The
system is expected to be marketed for $2 million.
Officials said Al Qaida has hired Palestinians from the West Bank and
Gaza Strip to carry out attacks on Israel.