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Missile shield nears service
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| 10 January 2006 |
Missile shield nears service
By Norman Sklarewitz
Northrop Grumman's Guardian air-defence system is in the final stages of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification process. The device has been developed to protect commercial aircraft from missiles launched from man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS), such as shoulder-fired missiles.
The FAA tested the counter-MANPADS system on an MD-11 aircraft in early November 2005 at the Mojave, California Test Center, and FAA-type certification is expected in January 2006. In mid-November, the testing moved to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, for a final Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review and expected approval of its technical, cost and schedule requirements on the MD-11. A Boeing 747 will be tested early in 2006 in anticipation of FAA certification.
At almost the same time as Northrop Grumman was testing its Guardian system in California, BAE Systems carried out the first flight of its JETEYE laser-based infrared countermeasures system, also on a commercial aircraft at Fort Worth Alliance Airport. It was installed on an American Airlines 767. A BAE spokesman says FAA certification is expected in January 2006. BAE's JETEYE is based on the company's Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system, developed to protect military aircraft.
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