Israel plans to begin registering its civil pilots into a security system that will enable it to identify who is in command of an aircraft approaching the country, rather than merely identifying the aircraft itself. Known as "Authenticator", Israel expects to launch the programme in mid-2007.
The classified system, developed by Elbit Systems, will allow Israeli air traffic control to verify the identity of the pilots flying an aircraft heading for Israel's airspace. According to the plan, the system will become operational in late 2007 or early 2008. Authenticator will be installed in every aircraft that regularly flies to Israel.
The features of the system have not been released by the ministry of transport, but a ministry source says it will give "positive identification under any situation," and one of its components is a unique smart card that each pilot will posess. Any attempt by a hijacker to force the pilots to provide details that would enable them to adopt the crews' identities would be foiled by the system's safeguards, says the source.
Source: Flight International
