CAMDA legislation aims to fast-track certification process to enable anti-missile defences to be deployed quickly
Legislation has been introduced in Congress to strengthen the US response to the threat to airliners from shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. The move is expected to help speed up the certification process to enable anti-missile systems to be deployed quickly.
The bipartisan Commercial Aviation Manpads Defence Act (CAMDA) aims to "fast-track" certification of anti-missile systems while limiting the proliferation of man-portable air defence systems (manpads).
The proposed legislation is a "comprehensive approach" to the manpads threat, says John Mica, chairman of the House aviation subcommittee and co-sponsor of the bill. Mica hopes the House of Representatives will vote on CAMDA by mid-May, to be followed by Senate action on the same or similar bill.
Development of infrared countermeasures systems for commercial aircraft under the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Counter-Manpads programme will be completed within 18 months, says Mica. "The next step is certification, and we know how long that can take. This bill will fast-track certification to deploy the systems.
CAMDA also urges pursuit of international "SAM ban" treaties to stop the proliferation of manpads, and endorses expansion of the US Department of State's effort to "buy back" shoulder-launched missiles from the black market. "Aviation will not be safe until we both control the supply and affect the demand," says the bill's co-sponsor, Representative Steve Israel.
The bill requires the DHS to report to Congress, within one year, on ground-based solutions to the manpads threat and the vulnerability assessments under way at US airports. "We need to do more with ground-based systems," says Mica.
GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
