[lit-ideas] extremism?
- From: "Julie Krueger" <juliereneb@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 01:45:30 -0600
Am I just terribly naive or is this not on the very edge of the "uh, we may
have gone a little far, crossed the line here somewhat" notion?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080104/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_american_airlines_missiles;_ylt=Au5mO9thTs88PdSnp0SL29gDW7oF
DALLAS - Up to three American Airlines jets carrying passengers will be
outfitted with anti-missile technology this spring in the latest phase of
testing technology to protect commercial planes from attack.
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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, a unit of AMR Corp., 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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