Guardian Missile Defense System For Commercial Aircraft

It finally happened. Five years and four months after Sept. 11 2001, an MD-10 aircraft flew out of Los Angeles International Airport this week to begin operational testing and evaluation of an anti-missile defense system to protect U.S. civilian airliners from ground-launched missiles. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security team will carry out the testing and evaluation program on the long awaited Guardian system developed by the Northrop Grumman Corporation. The Guardian remains the front-runner to provide what is potentially an enormous and very lucrative contract to install a Counter-Man Portable Air Defense System, or C-MANPADS on all U.S. commercial airliners.
Northrop Grumman in a statement released this week described the new testing procedures as "phase III of the DHS-sponsored program." "During the test and evaluation effort, which concludes in March 2008, nine MD-10 aircraft equipped with the Guardian system will be in continual revenue service operation," the company said. Northrop Grumman described the Guardian as "a defensive aid utilizing proven military technology to defend against the threat posed by anti-aircraft, shoulder-fired missiles. Once launched, the missile is detected by the Guardian system, which then directs a non-visible, eye-safe laser to the seeker head of the incoming missile, disrupting its guidance signals."