SEN. SCHUMER, REP. ISRAEL: DEPTS OF HOMELAND SECURITY, DEFENSE AND FAA MUST SWIFTLY STUDY IF AMERICAN PASSENGER PLANES SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH ANTI- MISSILE DEVICES TO PROTECT AGAINST MANPADS & SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES - TRAGIC ATTACK ON MH17 & CLOSE-CALLS NEAR TEL AVIV AIRPORT THIS WEEK RAISE SERIOUS RED FLAGS

Officials Said Federal Defense, Aviation & Homeland Security Experts Should Collaborate & Quickly Study If Anti-Missile Technology for Shoulder-Fired & Surface to Air Missiles Is Needed on America’s Commercial Jets – Senator Says Study Should Include Specific Recommendations on Best Technology to Combat Threat

Schumer, Israel: Time is Now for Feds to Study Putting Anti-Missile Tech Against Manpads & Surface to Air Missiles – There Is No Price Too High To Protect American Flyers

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Steve Israel today urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DoD), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to swiftly study whether American passenger planes should be equipped with anti-missile devices, such as onboard lasers, warning systems, flares, or infrared countermeasure systems, to protect against both man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and surface-to-air missiles. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that there are approximately 500,000 to 750,000 MANPADS in existence worldwide and a substantial number of these MANPAD systems have been acquired by terrorists. Schumer and Israel have long advocated for anti-missile technology onboard American flights. In 2004, the DHS finished a Congressionally-mandated study on anti-missile technology, however no action was taken. Given the recent tragic attack on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as well as the close calls nearby Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport as recently as Friday, plus a decades-worth of new potential technology options, Schumer and Israel today called for an interagency, comprehensive study examining the best technology to combat similar threats to American passenger planes. Schumer and Israel explained that missile systems have changed and technology has advanced since the last study ten years ago, and anti-missile defense systems could now be necessary and more cost-effective.

“The tragedy of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, plus numerous missiles being fired near the Tel Aviv airport have made one thing clear this week: we cannot let this happen to an American passenger plane,” said Senator Schumer. “That is why the time is now for a comprehensive, interagency study into the need for and effectiveness of equipping our plane fleets with anti-missile protections against both MANPAD and surface to air missiles. The last federal study into this technology was completed in 2004, and given that both missile systems and defenses against them have changed dramatically over the last decade, it is time to test the benefits and cost-effectiveness of further protecting our commercial jets. If the study determines that this technology would better protect our flyers, Congressman Israel and I will go to bat to secure the funding. No matter the price, we must do everything to protect American flyers.”

“With the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine and the flurry of rocket fire in Israel, we are once again reminded that an attack on a civilian aircraft remains a significant threat. That’s why, once again, I’m sounding the alarm and working with Sen. Schumer to find a sensible solution that will make us safer,” said Rep. Israel.

According to the State Department, MANPADS pose a serious threat to passenger air travel, commercial aviation and military aircraft. Most consist of a missile packaged in a tube, a launching mechanism and a battery. They are easy to conceal and can fit into a car’s trunk.

The State Department estimates that as many as several thousand MANPADS exist outside state control, including in the hands of al Qaeda. After U.S. led military forces toppled Saddam Hussein and his regime from power, as many as 4,000 MANPADS went missing from Iraqi military holdings. In the aftermath of the Libyan civil war, many weapons previously possessed by the Gadhafi regime were smuggled out of the country to other militaries in the region and terrorist organizations like Hamas in Gaza, Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Syrian insurgents, and groups in Mali, Yemen, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and other places. The U.S. led a $40 million buyback program to acquire loose missiles in the region, but were only able to secure 5,000 of an estimated 20,000 anti – aircraft systems that once belonged to the Gadhafi regime.  After tensions rose in November 2012 between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza strip, Hamas released a video of it possessing MANPADS. In Syria, thousands of soldiers have defected and set up new battalions that have shot down military helicopters and jets and in Iraq the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group has taken large swaths of territory and seized weapons depots of the Iraqi Army along the way.

Since 1973, at least 30 civilian aircraft have been downed by shoulder fired missiles, killing approximately 920 civilians, according to Stratfor, a Global Intelligence firm in Austin, Texas. Some estimates suggest that there have been more than 50 MANPAD attacks against civilian aircraft. In 2002, terrorists fired two Russian SA-7 missiles at an Arkia Israeli Airlines Boeing 757 filled with 261 tourists as it lifted off from the Mombasa Airport in Kenya. In 1998, rebels in Congo used a shoulder fired SA-7 missile to shoot down a jetliner carrying 40 civilians, killing all aboard. In 2007, Somali extremists’ militia al Shabab used a Russian SA-18 missile to shoot down a Belariusian cargo plane that was carrying supplies to UN peacekeepers; all 11 crewmen were killed. Earlier this month, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down, killing 298 individuals, by what U.S. officials believe may have been SA-11 antiaircraft systems. According to reports, the SA-11 surface to air missile system can fire missiles higher than 33,000 feet. Last week, the FAA banned American flights to Israel after a rocket landed approximately one mile from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. On Friday, it was reported that an Air Canada passenger plane was forced to abort landing at Ben Gurion International Airport due to nearby rockets.

Most military planes in the United States are equipped with defenses against heat seeking missiles, however, the majority of commercial aircraft do not utilize anti-missile technology.  The most recent study of this technology was completed by DHS in 2004. This did not lead to any change to American passenger planes.

Schumer and Israel today urged DHS, DoD and FAA to work together  to evaluate whether American passenger airlines should be equipped with anti-missile defensive countermeasures. Schumer and Israel explained that technology has advanced since the last study in 2004 and, the proliferation of anti-aircraft missiles in the wrong hands has greatly increased over the past five years. Therefore, Schumer and Israel said a study is necessary to determine whether this technology should be placed on passenger planes. The officials said that such equipment could cost from $1 to $2 million per plane, which is a fraction of the cost of these $100 to $200 million jets.

A copy of their letter is below:

Dear Secretary Hagel, Secretary Johnson, and Administrator Huerta:

We write to request that your agencies conduct an interagency study examining the threat posed to the U.S. commercial airline fleet by the proliferation of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and other surface-to-air missiles, and examining whether civilian airliners need to be equipped with defensive anti-missile countermeasures. The recent brazen attack by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile system above eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 individuals aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and a series of conflicts in the past that have greatly increased access to MANPAD anti-aircraft systems for terrorists and other rogue non-state actors highlights the need for action in protecting our nation’s fleet of over 7,000 aircraft. Unlike military aircraft, which carry defenses against heat-seeking missiles, U.S. commercial aircraft carry no such equipment, making them vulnerable to missile strikes at altitudes up to 15,000 feet, especially during takeoff and landing. Your agencies can play a critical role in ensuring that our skies are protected from this growing threat of anti-aircraft weapons. 

As you are aware, surface-to-air missiles are not a new threat, but recent events have heightened concerns about the safety of passenger aircraft. Since 1973, at least 30 civilian aircraft have been downed by shoulder fired missiles, killing approximately 920 civilians, according to Stratfor, a Global Intelligence firm in Austin, Texas. Some estimates suggest that there have been more than 50 MANPAD attacks against civilian aircraft. In 2002, terrorists fired two Russian SA-7 missiles at an Arkia Israeli Airlines Boeing 757 filled with 261 tourists as it lifted off from the Mombasa Airport in Kenya. In 1998, rebels in Congo used a shoulder fired SA-7 missile to shoot down a jetliner carrying 40 civilians, killing all aboard. In 2007, Somali extremists’ militia al Shabab used a Russian SA-18 missile to shoot down a Belariusian cargo plane that was carrying supplies to UN peacekeepers; all 11 crewmen were killed. Last week we witnessed an unfortunate tragedy where 298 individuals were killed by a very sophisticated SA-17 Buk surface-to-air missile system at a very high altitude.

Despite past incidents involving commercial aircraft, what concerns me the most is the sheer volume of these weapons that have gone unaccounted for in the past few years amidst destabilizing events stretching from West Africa to Central Asia. In addition, there is significant vulnerability of aircraft after take-off, during the initial climbing period, and while descending for approach when the planes are at slow speeds and entering the flight pattern. This combination of thousands of weapons potentially getting into the hands of terrorists and other rogue groups and the lack of anti-missile countermeasures aboard commercial planes creates a safety risk that must be taken seriously. In 2004, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that there are 500,000-750,000 MANPADS in existence worldwide. A substantial number of these MANPAD systems have been acquired by terrorists and other non-state actors through deliberate transfers, the black market, or theft.

The Department of State estimates that as many as several thousand MANPADs exist outside state control, including in the hands of al Qaeda. After U.S. led military forces toppled Saddam Hussein and his regime from power, as many as 4,000 MANPADS went missing from Iraqi military holdings. In the aftermath of the Libyan civil war, many weapons previously possessed by the Gadhafi regime were smuggled out of the country to other militaries in the region and terrorist organizations like Hamas in Gaza, Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Syrian insurgents, and groups in Mali, Yemen, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and other places. The U.S. led a $40 million buyback program to acquire loose missiles in the region, but were only able to secure 5,000 of an estimated 20,000 anti-aircraft systems that once belonged to the Gadhafi regime. After tensions rose in November 2012 between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza strip, Hamas released a video of it possessing MANPADS. In Syria, thousands of soldiers have defected and set up new battalions that have shot down military helicopters and jets. In Iraq the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group has taken large swaths of territory and seized weapons depots of the Iraqi Army along the way. It is abundantly clear that the proliferation of these easy to operate anti-aircraft missiles in the wrong hands has greatly increased over the past 5 years.

It is critical that your agencies work in coordination to evaluate whether vulnerable commercial airlines should be equipped with anti-missile defensive countermeasures, such as onboard lasers, warning systems, flares, offset decoys, or infrared countermeasure systems. Various governments, including the U.S. government, are invested in developing technologies that could be placed on planes to counter the threat of a heat seeking missiles. The risk to life, property, and our global economy by attacks on passenger aircraft is one that should be taken seriously and these technologies, even at a high cost, should be considered for an industry that is vital to our commerce, way of life and the transportation of our citizens.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and all of the work you do in protecting this nation. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us or our staff.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Steve Israel

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