Bill Urges Anti-Missile Shields

The House of Representatives on July 22 unanimously approved legislation urging the Federal Aviation Administration to expedite approval of technology to protect commercial airplanes from shoulder-fired missiles. In addition to urging FAA to expedite certification of technologies currently being developed, the bill requires diplomatic steps to reduce the number of shoulder-fired missiles worldwide and mandates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to assess the vulnerability of U.S. airports within one year. The 423-0 vote on the eve of Congress's summer recess sends the bill to the Senate, which also must approve it before it becomes law.

"The availability of these man-portable air defense system weapons is a cause for concern," said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the chairman of the House transportation subcommittee on aviation.

Bruce McIndoe, chairman and CEO of Annapolis, Md.-based travel risk management company Ijet, said the vote lays the groundwork for more meaningful discussions on how to pay for a technology that would cost about $30 billion to install in all 6,800 U.S. commercial jets. "This is an easy vote because it basically says go forth and explore the technology," he said. "It's going to be a different story when lawmakers have to come up with the $10 billion to $30 billion to make it happen."

The Air Transport Association puts the cost of outfitting every commercial airplane with anti-missile technology as high as $100 billion and opposes any proposal that makes airlines foot the bill. That may force Congress to find ways to pass the cost onto taxpayers and travelers by increasing security fees, McIndoe said. Depending on how much higher that boosts ticket prices, he said, the proposal might be downscaled from the reinforcement of every commercial airliner to only those flying in and out of high-risk areas in about 40 countries, such as Saudi Arabia. "Outfitting all aircraft is not warranted for the threat that's out there now," McIndoe said. "Outfitting a plane traveling from St. Louis to Des Moines is way over the top."

Shoulder-fired missiles, which have a range of up to three miles, have been fired at airliners five times since 1983, according to a November 2002 report by the Congressional Research Service. Two planes have been hit, killing 171 people. The issue has gained new urgency since terrorists unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down an Israeli charter plane in Kenya in November 2002 and forced a DHL flight in Baghdad to make an emergency landing after a missile hit one of the aircraft's engines in November 2003. Separately, last year three men were arrested in New York City trying to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States.

DHS already is working with contractors to determine how to apply military technology to civilian aircraft. The legislation orders FAA to speed up an approval process that can take as long as five years, Mica said. "We expect a recommendation on the viability, feasibility and costs associated with these systems sometime next year," he said. "After that, these systems will need to be expeditiously FAA-certified for installation on passenger aircraft."