Tests on how a system to protect against shoulder-fired missiles developed by BAE Systems will affect aircraft reliability and fuel consumption are due to begin in the spring of 2008 on three American Airlines Boeing 767-200s.
American says the exercise will not entail testing laser beams, but will focus on what effect the system - mounted on the underside of the aircraft's fuselage - has on the aircraft's operations.
BAE Systems leased an American 767-200 in late 2005 to fly and test its system against simulated Manpads shoulder-launched missiles.
The three 767-200s planned for use in the 2008 tests will fly mostly long-haul domestic flights, says American. The carrier says an anti-missile system is not necessarily its first preference for defence against Manpads, but it wants to understand how the system works.
BAE Systems says the testing will probably continue throughout 2008, and procurement of the materials for system installation has begun. Once the current stage of its agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security and Defense is finalised, BAE Systems will use the money from that part of the contract to handle the installations. The company says it is currently in stage three of the DHS's programme of counter-Manpads testing. Northrop Grumman is also taking part in the programme.
BAE says it will also fly the anti-missile system on an ABX Air Cargo aircraft during the current phase of the programme. It says this continuing development "aims to reduce the potential costs to the airline industry by streamlining system installation, reducing aerodynamic drag and improving reliability and maintainability".
Protection of airports from the Manpads threat is also being trialed in the USA: Flightglobal.com/vigilanteagle
Source: Flight International