Nearly invisible, pyrotechnic-based flares are the heart of a missile protection system for commercial aircraft submitted for US Federal Aviation Administration certification.
Miami-based start-up Aviation Protection Systems (APS), founded by Elta Systems and Israel Military Industries, intends to offer the Flight Guard system mostly to VIP aircraft and business jet customers, starting in the second quarter of 2005, pending the FAA's approval. APS is also positioning itself in the US market in case defensive systems against shoulder-fired missiles are mandated for commercial transport aircraft.
Flight Guard is designed to mitigate against the numerous concerns about operating flare-based systems in commercial airports. The system's chaff-and-flare dispensers are activated only after the aircraft has climbed to 50ft-100ft (15-30m) reducing the risk of showering an active runway with burning flares. A "dark" flare technology makes the pyrotechnic material nearly invisible - crucial to prevent panicking passengers during false alarms.
The high false-alarm rate of flare-based systems prompted the Department of Homeland Security this year to reject the technology for a two-year development programme, which instead selected two laser-based jamming systems.
But Omer Regev, president of APS, says tests on Flight Guard show the system only produces one false alarm for every 1,000 flights. The system is half the cost of a laser jamming turret and can be maintained for less than $20,000 a year.
The system is based on a pulse-Doppler radar. The pilot is responsible for turning on the system's main power switch after engine start-up. The radaractivates automatically upon rotation, while the flaredispenser comes online a few seconds later.
Source: Flight International
