Dateline: 02/18/03

All U.S. civilian commercial aircraft would be required to carry anti-missile protection devices similar to those currently used on military transport aircraft, under a bill just introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California).

Boxer introduced the bill, S. 311 - The Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act, in response to growing concerns generated since two shoulder-launched, "Stinger" SAM missiles were fired at an Israeli jetliner taking off from Mombasa, Kenya.

"Shoulder-fired missiles are a serious threat to our airlines, our economy, and the personal safety of every American airline passenger," Boxer said. "This is a relatively small cost to address a very big threat. We have a proven technology to counter that threat and we can take a giant step forward in the defense of our homeland."

Democratic Congressman Steve Israel (New York, 2nd) agreed to back Boxer's bill in the House. 

"We know now that the threat from SAMs is real and we know how to address it," Israel said. "We shouldn't wait until an American plane is attacked to discuss what we could have done to prevent it. We know what can be done. Let's do it now."

U.S. contributed to proliferation of missiles
During the 1980s, the United States provided Stinger missiles to Afghanistan's Mujahadeen fighters, who used them with devastating affect against the Soviets. When the Mujahadeen splintered into the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the war ended in 1989, thousands of the U.S.-made Stingers remained unaccounted for and are now assumed to be in the hands of terrorists. Soviet shoulder armed missiles, like the ones used in Kenya against the Israeli jetliner, are even more abundant.

How the systems would work
The advanced technology needed to protect American commercial airplanes exists and is operational on US commercial transports. The new system are advanced and are much more successful than the previous system of diversionary flares. The most modern systems, such as those installed on US C17s and C5As, identify when a plane is threatened, detect the source of the threat, jam the guidance system of the incoming missiles and steer it off its flight path. Similar systems are currently used on low-altitude military aircrafts.

If passed, Boxer's Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act would direct the Secretary of Transportation to oversee the installation of SAM protection on all commercial jets. The bill would also require that, "all turbojet aircraft contracted for on or after the date of issuance of the regulations by an air carrier for scheduled air service be equipped with a missile defense system."

Costs of the bill
The bill also authorizes the Department of Transportation to pay the costs of installing missile defense systems on all existing aircraft. Congressional analysts place the cost to taxpayers for installing fully operational anti-SAM system on the entire U.S. fleet of over 6,800 commercial jet liners at from $7 to $10 billion.

The bill would require installation of missile defense systems to begin by the end of this year. In the meantime, the Boxer-Israel bill directs the President to use the National Guard and Coast Guard to provide increased patrols of airport perimeters in order to prevent attacks by shoulder-fired missiles.