Contracts awarded for passenger jet missile defense.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe
• Position: Security beat: homeland defense briefs

The Department of Homeland Security awarded contracts for two antimissile systems for passenger planes and is scheduling a 24-month test to determine if the systems are feasible.

BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman Corp. each won a $45 million contract in August to adapt currently used military platforms for civilian use. Both systems use lasers to jam the heat-seeking guidance of surface-to-air missiles.

"That's pretty much where the comparisons stop," said Parney Albright, DHS's assistant secretary for science and technology. "Other than the fact they both use directed energy, the systems are fundamentally different," he said.

The effort has received lukewarm support, at best, from the airline industry and pilot associations, principally because of the high price tag and untested technology. Like many military systems deployed to the civilian sector, false alarm rates and differing operating environments make transitions problematic.

One problem with civilian laser systems is the extended periods that they operate. Military aircraft generally activate their defenses over high-risk areas, or on takeoff" and landing. A civilian system would have to run the duration of a flight, 10 times longer than the current systems point of failure, Albright said.

He added that the...