A new plan for providing security in US airspace calls for a homeland air security (HAS) operations centre to co-ordinate the efforts of different agencies and act as a central communications location during a crisis.
The Interagency Homeland Air Defense Working Group (IHAD WG) set up on 16 November has sent a draft of its HAS operational concept to all the agencies represented. Maj Gen Jeffrey Musfeldt, assistant to the US Air Force chief of staff for air and space operations, says he hopes its member agencies will have approved the plan by the end of June.
The IHAD WG established three subgroups - for surveillance, intelligence and communications - to determine how security in the US airspace system should be improved. Particularly clear is inadequate intelligence data sharing between agencies and the lack of low-altitude radar surveillance in the US interior, says Musfeldt.
There is also a communications gap, as most US fighters are fitted only with UHF radios, not VHF equipment standard in airliners and civil air traffic control.
The HAS would identify threats from missile attacks to terrorist distribution of biological agents over city centres. Four reaction phases are detailed: threat recognition; threat assessment and warning; interdiction; and recovery and follow-up.
Source: Flight International
