WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- In first-ever tests for commercial airplanes carrying passengers , as many as three American Airlines jets will be equipped with a shoulder-fired missile defense system . The Department of Homeland Security signed a $ 29 million contract with BAE Systems on December 21 . BAE said Thursday it is working with American Airlines to put laser systems on the planes , which will be flying between New York and California . Since the contract calls for the planes to log about 7,000 flight hours , the tests will probably last from early spring , starting in March or April , until the end of the year , DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said . The systems have already been tested on cargo aircraft and out-of-service passenger planes . The new contract calls for the systems to be tested for the first time on aircraft carrying passengers . DHS , American Airlines and BAE Systems were all careful to assure there will be no test firing -- through simulators or otherwise . The tests primarily will check the systems ' worthiness in air and their maintenance reliability . The system works by detecting the heat-seeking missiles and then emitting a laser that diverts the missile . Homeland Security officials say there is no specific threat of these weapons -- also known as MANPADS , for Man-Portable Air Defense Systems -- being fired at planes . Taliban forces , however , successfully used MANPADS against Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan . Terrorists tried , unsuccessfully , in 2002 to shoot down an Israeli passenger jet in Kenya with them . Insurgents hit a DHL cargo plane in Baghdad the following year , but the plane landed safely . Experts say about 500,000 to 700,000 MANPADS have been produced worldwide , and some have been purchased in Middle Eastern and Central Asian arms markets for as little as $ 5,000 . Since 2003 , Congress has pressured DHS to adapt military anti-MANPADS technology to commercial aviation . Commercial airlines have opposed efforts to install defense systems , which are costly , add weight , and can weaken the plane 's aerodynamics . A chief goal of the testing program is to discover how to increase the systems ' endurance . Military systems require frequent maintenance -- not practical for commercial airplanes that fly for extended periods between maintenance checks . American Airlines on Thursday said it is participating in the program , but added it is `` not in favor of installing counter-MANPADS on commercial aircraft . '' The airline believes protection is best accomplished by preventing terrorists from getting shoulder-fired missiles , or by using ground-based systems , spokesman John Hotard said . But the airline said it is willing to participate because it `` wants to understand the development '' of these technologies that might be available in the future . Last year , American and BAE installed and test flew BAE 's hardware on a Boeing 767 that was not in commercial service , Hotard said . E-mail to a friend .
Some American Airlines passenger planes will be equipped with anti-missile gear . Score: 6 There will be no test firing , officials say .