Options for Mitigating Missile Threats

Most observers believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate the SAMthreat to airliners. Instead, a menu of options may be considered, including improvementsor modifications to commercial aircraft, changes to pilot training and air traffic controlprocedures, and improvements to airport and local security. (45) Historical arguments against fielding countermeasures on airliners include their acquisitioncost, cost and difficulty of integrating them into the aircraft, life cycle costs, environmentalconstraints on their use, and the fear that they may promote perceptions that flying is not safe.Estimates of the cost of acquiring and installing IR countermeasures on commercial aircraftrange between $1 million and $3 million per aircraft. However,properly trained crews may be able to use other special procedures to evade missile attacks. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2004 ( P.L.108-90 ) fully funded the requested $60 million in FY2004 for this effort and an additional$61 million was appropriated in FY2005 ( H.R. (80) Phase II consistedof an 18-month prototype development and evaluation based on existing technology. Equipping aircraft with missile countermeasure systems has advantages.Countermeasures are fixed to the aircraft, require little or no flight crew intervention, and canprotect the aircraft even when operating in areas where ground-based security measures areunavailable or infeasible to implement. Procedural improvements such as flight crew training, changes to air trafficmanagement, and improved security near airports may be less costly than countermeasuresand could more immediately help deter domestic terrorist attacks. However, these techniquesby themselves cannot completely mitigate the risk of domestic attacks and would not protectU.S. airliners flying to and from foreign airports. Legislation introduced in the 108thCongress ( H.R. 580 / S. 311 ) called for the installation of missiledefense systems in all turbojet aircraft used in scheduled air carrier service.
Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder firedsurface-to-air missiles (SAMs), referred to as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), pose to commercial airliners. Most believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate thisthreat. Instead, a menu of options may be considered, including installing infrared (IR)countermeasures on aircraft; modifying flight operations and air traffic control procedures;improving airport and regional security; and strengthening missile non-proliferation efforts. Equipping aircraft with missile countermeasure systems can protect the aircraft even when operatingin areas where ground-based security measures are unavailable or infeasible to implement. However,this option has a relatively high cost, between $1 million and $3 million per aircraft, and the timeneeded for implementation does not allow for immediate response to the existing terrorist threat.Procedural improvements such as specific flight crew training, altering air traffic procedures tominimize exposure to the threat, and improved security near airports may be less costly thancountermeasures and could more immediately help deter domestic terrorist attacks. However, thesetechniques by themselves cannot completely mitigate the risk of domestic attacks and would notprotect U.S. airliners flying to and from foreign airports.
Legislation introduced in the 108th Congress called for the installation of missile defensesystems in all turbojet aircraft used in scheduled air carrier service. Homeland Securityappropriations designated $60 million in FY2004, $61 million in FY2005, and $110 million inFY2006 to fund a program to develop and test prototype missile countermeasure systems forcommercial aircraft based on existing military technology. It is anticipated that at the conclusion ofthis program, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to provide a detailed analysis of thesuitability of such systems for use to protect commercial passenger aircraft.
This report will be updated as needed.