JERUSALEM — Israel has sped up work on a missile defense system for its commercial airliners because of fears that Palestinian militants in Gaza have obtained anti-aircraft weapons looted from Libya, defense officials said Friday.
All Israeli passenger planes will be fitted with the laser-based system “within months,” about a year ahead of schedule, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not to brief journalists.
Israel began developing the system in 2002, after Islamic militants tried to hit an Israeli passenger plane with shoulder-fired missiles outside Mombasa, Kenya. The missiles missed, but the incident pushed Israel to find a way to better protect its commercial airliners.
About 100 planes are being fitted with the system, named C-Music, at a cost of about $135 million. It aims to improve on earlier technology installed on a smaller number of jets flying to destinations known to be home to militant groups or otherwise considered dangerous, especially in Africa and parts of Asia. That device fired flares to lure heat-seeking missiles away from the plane.
The officials said the new system uses lasers to more effectively jam heat-seeking mechanisms and throw missiles off target. The Associated Press
