American Airlines Will Participate In Anti-Missile Technology Testing
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American Airlines will allow up to three jets carrying passengers to be
outfitted with anti-missile technology this spring in the latest phase of
testing technology to protect commercial planes from attack.
 An American
Airlines spokesman said Friday that the test will determine how well the
anti-missile system holds up under the rigors of flight. The first Boeing
767-200 will be equipped in April or later, said the airline spokesman, Tim
Wagner. American operates that Boeing model mostly between New York and San
Francisco and Los Angeles. American said it is "not in favor" of
putting anti-missile systems on commercial planes but agreed to take part in the
tests to understand technologies that might be available in the future.
The technology is intended to stop a missile attack by detecting heat given
off from the rocket, then firing a laser beam that jams the missile's guidance
system. The device on the belly of the Boeing 767-200 aircraft will be
operational but won't be tested on regular flights, Wagner said. The use of a
signal to mimic a missile attack has already been tested in the air, Wagner
said.
American, the nation's largest carrier, has been working with defense
contractor BAE Systems PLC on the project for a couple years. In 2006, BAE
installed its hardware on a Boeing 767 that wasn't used to fly paying
passengers. About a year ago, reporters were invited to American's
maintenance base in Fort Worth to see a jet outfitted with the laser-jamming
device on its belly. "We are now entering the next phase,"
Wagner said, which is "to see how the system holds up on an aircraft in
real-time conditions, weather, continuous takeoffs and landings, etc., and to
test its maintenance reliability." Wagner said American is also
collecting more information on how the laser-jamming device affects fuel
consumption.
Congress has approved funding for anti-missile research partly out of fear
that terrorists armed with shoulder-fired weapons could hit jetliners as they
take off and land. U.K.-based BAE won a contract from the Homeland Security
Department to test its technology. Fort Worth-based American has said
anti-missile defense is best handled by stopping terrorists from getting
missiles that could shoot down commercial jets and by improving security around
airports.
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