Technical Problems Delay Deployment Until At Least September

If all went smoothly, Israel's national airline, El Al, was supposed to test missile defense systems installed on its aircraft by the end of the month.

All has not gone smoothly.

The first step was to put ELTRA/IAI's "Flight Guard" on an El Al cargo aircraft. The installation was supposed to have been completed this month. But plans to test that system have been delayed until at least September, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

El Al executives cited problems in coordinating the test -- which would include firing a missile at the testbed, couldn't be coordinated with the Israeli Defense Force by the end of the month. They also said they were having trouble registering and even installing the anti-missile systems.

The Flight Guard system uses radar to detect incoming missiles. Israel became especially interested in deploying anti-missile systems after two shoulder-launched SAMs barely missed an Arkia Airlines flight departing Kenya two years ago.

There had been some controversy over the anti-missile systems here in the US, even as the government continues looking into airborne anti-missile technology. In fact, Israel's former transport minister, Avigdor Lieberman, went so far as to travel to Washington (DC) and obtain assurances from the FAA that anti-missile-equipped El Al flights would be allowed to land in the US. Lieberman returned to Jerusalem in April, reporting that the agreement had been reached.

FMI: www.elal.co.il