Aknauta
01-16-2003, 03:08 AM
washingtonpost.com
U.S. Acts to Thwart Missile Threat Against Airliners
By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; Page A01
Top federal officials, increasingly concerned that terrorists will attack U.S. commercial aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles, are developing plans to thwart such strikes with measures that range from sophisticated anti-missile technology to simple changes in takeoff schedules.
An interagency task force that reports to the National Security Council is also coordinating emergency inspections of every large U.S. airport to determine their vulnerability to the small, portable missiles, senior government officials said. And the task force is planning a public education campaign designed to teach police departments and citizens who live and work near airports to identify the missiles if they see them being assembled.
While acknowledging their alarm at the danger posed by portable missiles that may be fired at the approximately 6,700 commercial aircraft operating in the United States, administration officials stressed yesterday that the highest echelons of the U.S. government are focused on the threat and are determined to maximize the traveling public's safety.
a system that automatically detects a missile launch from the ground and directs an infrared beam at the missile, causing it to veer off course. (http://www.washingtonpost.c om/wp-dyn/articles/A57085-2003Jan14.html)
U.S. Acts to Thwart Missile Threat Against Airliners
By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; Page A01
Top federal officials, increasingly concerned that terrorists will attack U.S. commercial aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles, are developing plans to thwart such strikes with measures that range from sophisticated anti-missile technology to simple changes in takeoff schedules.
An interagency task force that reports to the National Security Council is also coordinating emergency inspections of every large U.S. airport to determine their vulnerability to the small, portable missiles, senior government officials said. And the task force is planning a public education campaign designed to teach police departments and citizens who live and work near airports to identify the missiles if they see them being assembled.
While acknowledging their alarm at the danger posed by portable missiles that may be fired at the approximately 6,700 commercial aircraft operating in the United States, administration officials stressed yesterday that the highest echelons of the U.S. government are focused on the threat and are determined to maximize the traveling public's safety.
a system that automatically detects a missile launch from the ground and directs an infrared beam at the missile, causing it to veer off course. (http://www.washingtonpost.c om/wp-dyn/articles/A57085-2003Jan14.html)