Some In Congress Want To Move Faster

Get on with it, already. That seems to be the message from Florida Congressman John Mica's House Aviation Subcommittee to the FAA about developing anti-missile systems for civilian aircraft.

"Other nations are going faster with their studies," said James Shilling, spokesman for the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association. "Their systems are very much on a par with our systems. Let's not study and look and ponder so six years down the road somebody shoots something."

Several members of the House subcommittee appeared to agree. Mica himself noticed that Israel is already testing IAI's system for in-flight missile defense on El Al aircraft. If successful, installation of the systems could begin this year.

But Mica also sounded a realistic note, saying, "The cost and complication associated with installing these systems on commercial aircraft could be staggering and also time-consuming. The United States must also move forward with other domestic and international efforts."

The measure approved by the subcommittee Thursday calls for an FAA report in one year, detailing efforts to curb the shoulder-fired missile threat at airports around the country.

But anti-terror officials in Washington, along with their counterparts at big-time think tanks, don't think the worst threat is here in the US. Instead, they point to foreign airports as a more likely target for terrorists armed with SAMs.

"We remain most concerned about this threat overseas," said Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "We do not have threat information that indicates al-Qaeda is planning an attack at a specific location in the United States."

FMI: www.dhs.gov