Protecting Commercial Aviation Against the Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat
Abstract
Air travel has become an integral part of modern life. Terrorists have long understood this and have made commercial aviation one of their prime targets. Al Qaeda and its affiliates have both the motive and the means to bring down U.S. commercial aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). No such attempt has yet been made against a U.S. carrier, but given the measures being taken to preclude 9/11 style attacks, the use of MANPADS will unavoidably become more attractive to terrorist. What might be done to prevent such an attack? We concentrate here on the capabilities and costs of onboard technologies to divert or destroy an attacking missile. Given the significant costs involved with operating countermeasures based upon current technology, we believe a decision to install such systems aboard commercial airliners should be postponed until the technologies can be developed and shown to be more compatible in a commercial environment. This development effort should proceed as rapidly as possible. Concurrently, a development effort should begin immediately that focuses on understanding damage mechanisms and the likelihood of catastrophic damage to airliners from MANPADS and other forms of man-portable weapons. Findings from the two development programs should inform a decision on the number of aircraft that should be equipped with countermeasures (from none to all 6,800 U.S. jet-powered aircrafts) and the sequence in which aircraft are to be protected.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA442904
Entities
People
- Chad Shirley
- David Ochmanek
- James Chiesa
- James Chow
- Joel Kvitky
- Mel Eisman
- Paul Dreyer
- Sherrill Lingel
- Theodore W. Karasik
Organizations
- RAND Corporation