SAM Countermeasure Protects Commercial Flights
Northrop Grumman Guardian System Defence Developed for Airline Use
Sep 19, 2008
Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS) are shoulder-mounted guided anti-aircraft missile launchers that are popular with military forces and terrorist organizations. MANPADS are produced by over 25 countries, are widely available on the weapons black market despite tight official controls, and are extremely effective against aircraft.
During the 1991 Gulf War, 12 of the 29 downed Allied aircraft were victims of MANPADS. Up to 269 Soviet aircraft were lost to surface-to-air (SAM) missiles wielded by the Afghan Mujahedin in the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, MANPADS have also been turned on civilian aircraft.
- 1993: 108 people were killed in total when two Transair Airlines airplanes were shot down a day apart in Abkhazia, Georgia.
- 1998: Tamil Tigers claimed responsibility for shooting down a Lionair aircraft off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. Initial reports suggest MANPADS were used. 55 lives were lost.
- 2002: A Boeing 757 came under attack from SAM missiles as it took off from Moi International Airport, Mombasa. The missiles missed, and the 271 passengers aboard arrived safely at their destination of Tel Aviv.
- 2003: The hydraulic systems of a DHL Airbus cargo plane were lost when the aircraft was hit by a SAM missile shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq. The crew managed to land the damaged Airbus safely. The attack was later attributed to a Feyadeen commando unit.
- 2007: During the Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, a TransAVIAexport Airlines airplane was shot down over the coast after taking off from Mogadishu International Airport. Eyewitness accounts claim a rocket was fired at the plane from a boat. 10 of the 11-strong crew were killed in the crash. The surviving crew member was recovered by a rescue party, but died later the same day in hospital.
In response to rising concerns over terrorist threats to civilian air traffic, a number of countermeasure systems have been developed to protect commercial airliners from MANPADS attack.
FlightGuard
Using Doppler radar, FlightGuard deploys flares as a decoy measure against detected missile attacks. Due to the pyrotechnic nature of this decoy system, a number of European countries have voiced concerns over the potential fire hazard risk involved. Due to this risk, Switzerland has vowed to ground any arriving aircraft with FlightGuard fitted.
SAAB Avitronics Civil Aircraft Missile Protection System (CAMPS)
Designed specifically for civilian aircraft, CAMPS utilises infrared sensors to detect the ultraviolet light emitted by a missile when it burns propellant. When a missile is detected, the system distributes specially designed non-military flares as decoy targets.
Unlike those used by the FlightGuard system, these flares burn at low temperatures, are non-explosive, and following combustion, leaves no residue, eliminating risk of fire. The system was successfully tested in March 2007.
Northrop Grumman Guardian System
The Guardian System, developed by US defence contractors Northrop Grumman, operates a system of laser jamming. Unlike conventional protection systems which rely on creating a decoy heat system to divert a threatening missile, the Guardian countermeasure uses lasers to "blind" a missile's guidance system.
The Guardian countermeasure has been in effective use on a limited number of aircraft since 2006 after a series of flight tests in which simulated missile attacks on aircraft fitted with Guardian system pods proved to be 100% effective.
The system is considered to be highly cost effective, adding as little as $1 to the ticket price of an airliner fitted with a Guardian pod. As global awareness of terrorist activity increases, it is likely that more commercial aircraft will be equipped with the Guardian System. Considering the alternatives, the Guardian seems cost effective indeed.
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