"Using this card, it will be possible to verify that the person flying the aircraft is indeed the person qualified to fly it," Daniel Shenar, head of security at Israel's Transportation Ministry, said.

"This system was developed to prevent aviation mega-terror over Israel, in the form of a plane coming through one of the borders and crashing into a target in Israel," Shenhar said. "The system should be operational by the end of the year."

"You can't bluff this system," Shenar said, without elaborating.

Officials said the government has financed a project to develop a system termed "Code Positive." They said the system provides a card exclusive to each pilot and carried aboard flights.

Officials said the government was distributing such cards to pilots who fly into Israel. Those without the cards would be denied entry into Israeli airspace and could be intercepted by the air force.

The system has been developed by Israel's Elbit Systems, the nation's largest non-government-owned defense company. The company has confirmed the system but would not provide details.

Officials said the Israel has begun distributing the cards free of charge to pilots. They said the Transportation Ministry planned to set a deadline for pilots to use Code Positive.