Future Unclear for Plan to Arm Planes

AP via Airport Business ^ | LESLIE MILLER

[Paleo Conservative]

[COEXERJ145]

While the idea for defending against man portable SAMs is a nice sounding idea, it won't eliminate the threat. If someone can get close enough to an airport, they could attempt to bring down an aircraft with a machine gun or RPG. There is no defense against machine gun rounds or an RPG as both are unguided weapons. Both weapons are easier to acquire and maintain than a man portable SAM.

[isthisnickcool]

Though shoulder-fired missiles don't pose a threat in the United States right now...

Yea, sure..

[DoughtyOne]

Mica plans to introduce a bill to require systems on some planes that may pose a particular risk, such as international flights. The government may pay for part of the systems, he said.

"I don't believe terrorists will be successful in taking down a domestic aircraft, but I think we're overdue for international aircraft to be hit," Mica said.

Congress has agreed to pay for developing technology to counter lightweight rocket launchers, but balked at proposals to spend the billions needed to protect all 6,800 commercial U.S. airliners.

No passenger plane has ever been downed by a shoulder-fired missile outside of a combat zone. But terrorists linked with al-Qaida are believed to have fired two SA-7 missiles that narrowly missed an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2002.

When a government whack-job starts reguritating this 'stuff', I just tune out.  I liked it better when the old USSR pretty much had a corner on propaganda.

I guess this guy bought the government's (CIA's) cartoon about TWA Flight 800.

5, 4, 3, 2...  Hi _Jim, how the heck are ya?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

No passenger plane has ever been downed by a shoulder-fired missile outside of a combat zone.

Uh huh. The government's official finding of the literally hundreds of witnesses to the downing of Flight 800 with a missile is that they were drunks or imagining things.

[DoughtyOne]

Let's see, stopping the immigration of people from terrorist states, or spending hundreds of billions of dollars to defend against what some of them will do? Gosh, it's a real tough choice. I'll have to think on this.

As stupid as that sounds, that's exactly what our government is having tough time deciding. Pitiful!

[verity]

My immediate thought is tort lawyers.

"The technology was available. However, the industry, including x Airlines, deliberately chose to not install the "device" on the Aircraft designated as Flight xxx. As a result of the aircraft being downed by a missile and the resultant loss of 300 souls, we are asking for $3Million for each life lost and an additional $1Billion in punitive damages for gross negligence."

Could this be a plausible scenario?

[ChefKeith]

Too bad TWA800 didn't have this.

[Cobra64]

This concept is stooopid; just as the TSA is. We keep putting band-aids on any given issue / situation. The key is to ELIMINATE the root cause. Until the "leaders" on this planet grow a pair... it's just more mental masturbation as ususal....Pathetic.

(crickets)

[Cobra64]

I'm with on that Doughty. See my similar agreement to yours on this thread. We're saying the same, but from differing approaches. Same concept though, in addressing the issue.

[DoughtyOne]

Yep, crickets! And folks wonder why I have as much contempt for the RP as I do the DP. On some issues they're better, and on other issues they are just a pathetic.

[Turbopilot]

No matter how cheap, light, and reliable they make this system, it will still add cost, weight, and maintenance needs to aircraft, taking time and money that US airlines just don't have right now. And all for a threat that, even with the spread of terrorism, is virtually nonexistent, IMHO. They might as well just require that each passenger be provided with an ejection seat.

No commercial plane has ever been downed by a missle outside a war zone, but commercial planes have been downed by young radical Arab Muslim males. So rather than worrying about missiles, let's worry about keeping the young radical Arab Muslim males away from airplanes, if not away from the country altogether.

[sheik yerbouty]

"Nothing to see here; move along.."

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Ommygod. She's locked on, PC (great graphic).

Worst thing in the world would be to go down on a transport. I think of it everytime I takeoff and land.

[UNGN]

When a government whack-job starts reguritating this 'stuff', I just tune out. I liked it better when the old USSR pretty much had a corner on propaganda.

I guess this guy bought the government's (CIA's) cartoon about TWA Flight 800.

Take your Tin foil hat off for a second and read what he said:

shoulder-fired missile

There is no way in hell a towel head with an SA-7 or even a stinger could have or would have taken out Flight 800. It was too high and fast and there were 10,000 much easier targets, 30 miles closer to civilization.

[Yo-Yo]

I guess this guy bought the government's (CIA's) cartoon about TWA Flight 800.

What, you don't think a 747 can continue to fly for up to a minute with no nose?

</sarcasm>

[Yo-Yo]

Why the high cost, high complexity laser dazzler system? Why not just a cheap, simple, proven flare dispenser?

[Paleo Conservative]

Why the high cost, high complexity laser dazzler system? Why not just a cheap, simple, proven flare dispenser?

Weight. Every pound of dead weight added to an aircraft will add lots of cost for additional fuel and maintenance over the life of the plane.

[DoughtyOne]

The simple flare option doesn't burn off enough of your tax dollars. Get with it! Heh heh heh...

When the full cost of that lazer system is revealed, you'll understand where the 'dazzler' component to the name came from. I guess they could have called it the lazer cardiac arrest system, but dazzler fits better on the name plate.