TEL AVIV — An Israeli security firm is designing an aircraft that is
immune to hijacking.
Israel's Athena GS3 Security Implementations is drafting designs
and methods for a European aircraft that could not be commandeered by
intruders. Athena, founded in 1996 by former Mossad director Shabtai Shavit,
has been deemed a major participant in the European Union's Security of
Aircraft in the Future European Environment, or SAFEE.
SAFEE, launched in 2004, was meant to last through 2007. The $45.7
million project, which also includes Airbus, EADS, BAE Systems, Siemens
and Thales, has been financed through a $25 million grant by the European
Commission.
"The goals of our projects are just for a design, and at the end of the
project, there will be a system that's workable," Athena chief operations
officer Omer Laviv said. "Then, I presume and I hope that it will start a
new phase of implementation."
Laviv, a former chief security officer at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport,
said Athena's effort was based on a scenario in which a person boarded an
aircraft with either a weapon or bomb. The company has been participating in
SAFEE programs to design software to detect suspicious passenger behavior at
the airline counter or a collision avoidance system to prevent a suicide
hijacker from deliberately crashing the aircraft.
Athena and its partners would meet their deadline to draft a design for
a non-hijackable plane, Laviv said. He said the companies would develop a
prototype during a second stage.
"The goals of our projects are just for a design, and at the end of the
project, there will be a system that's workable," Laviv told the Israel21c
website. "Then, I presume and I hope that it will start a new phase of
implementation."