Northop's 'Guardian' System To Counter MANPADS
An MD-10 aircraft in commercial service with FedEx departed Los
Angeles International Airport today sporting Northrop Grumman
Corporation's new Guardian system. This is the beginning of the
operational test and evaluation portion of the US Department of
Homeland Security's (DHS) Counter-Man Portable Air Defense Systems
(C-MANPADS) program.
As part of Phase III of the DHS-sponsored program, a Northrop
Grumman-led industry team will complete production of Guardian
missile defense systems for installation on MD-10 aircraft. During
the test and evaluation effort, which concludes in March 2008,
FedEx will fly nine MD-10 aircraft equipped with the Guardian
system.
Northrop bills the Guardian system as a defensive aid
utilizing proven military technology to defend against the threat
posed by anti-aircraft, shoulder-fired missiles. Components of the
system are mounted in a bathtub-sized pod on an aircraft's lower
fuselage. Once launched, the system should detect the missile and
direct a non-visible, eye-safe laser to its seeker head
disrupting guidance signals.
"This milestone marks an important event for Northrop Grumman
and the aviation industry. For the first time, we will be able to
collect valuable logistics data while operating Guardian on
aircraft in routine commercial service," said Robert L. DelBoca,
vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Defensive
Systems Division. "We stand ready to protect America's flying
public with the proven technology that we supply to our warfighters
worldwide in operational theater."
As ANN reported, the
program has been under development and testing over the last
16-months. According to Northrop, the operational test environments
included the use of a ground-based electronic missile surrogate to
simulate the launch of a shoulder-fired missile toward an aircraft
during takeoff and landing. The tests were performed on MD-11,
MD-10 and B-747 aircraft. Northrop says the system functioned as
designed, automatically detecting the simulated launch and mock
missile.
The company says its Guardian system makes use of multi-band
laser and other technologies from the its military directional
infrared countermeasures system, the only such protection system
currently in production for the US military and several allied
nations.
The Guardian system was developed as part of the DHS's
initiative to protect commercial aircraft from attack MANPADs.
The DHS program is focused on demonstrating the viability,
economics and effectiveness of adapting existing military
technology to protect commercial aircraft from terrorist
threats.
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