Israel’s civil aviation authority is close to certificating the Flight Guard flare-based missile defence system, clearing the way for installation on Israeli airliners – a step the developers hope could lead to certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Israeli experts who participated in the Flight Guard tests say the system proved its capability to counter “any existing threat”. A source close to the programme says the CAA’s two major demands – that installing the flares will not endanger the aircraft and that the system will have a low false-alarm rate – were met.
Developed by Israel Aircraft Industries subsidiary Elta, the system uses pulse-Doppler sensors and “dark flares” – invisible to the human eye – developed by Israel Military Industries. Miami-based Aviation Protection Systems has been appointed to sell Flight Guard in the USA. “Their main job will be to convince an American carrier to install the system, which will bring it to the desk of the FAA for approval,” says a senior Israeli industry source.
Flight Guard was tested on a Boeing 737 testbed owned by IAI. Israeli certification will allow the system to be installed on an El Al aircraft. While the commercial version awaits certification, the system is already fitted to an Angolan presidential aircraft and another used by the president of an unidentified CIS state.
While Flight Guard was chosen after the November 2002 missile attack on an Arkia Boeing 757 taking off from Mombasa, Kenya, the Israeli ministry of defence selected an Elbit Systems/Rafael DIRCM system as the long-term solution. This combines Rafael’s Britening DIRCM with El Op fibre laser technology. The laser generator is carried in the cargo bay, linked to a small turret housing the sensor and fibre-tip that emits the laser beam. Elbit and Rafael say that the installation of a more powerful laser generator will enable the system to jam missiles with imaging infrared seekers.
ARIE EGOZI/TEL AVIV
Source: Flight International
