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CNN Live At Daybreak
Protecting Planes: Antimissile System
Aired December 03, 2002 - 05:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're asking the question is there any technology available to guard against shoulder-fired missiles when they're firing a missile at an airplane that's taking off from a runway? There is technology available.
We do have CNN's Jerrold Kessel on the phone. He's near Ben Gurion International in Tel Aviv.
Good morning -- Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
It's here at the airport collecting material for a package, which we'll be filing later, about these Israeli attempts, the urgent drive to find ways of deflecting that missile threat. The Israelis really believe that this has been a major escalation. You heard Benjamin Netanyahu earlier that the attempt at shooting down of the aircraft by the shoulder-held missile was really a major escalation.
Now there's a general conception that a passenger plane is most vulnerable to attack as it approaches or departs the airport like happened at Mombasa in Kenya last Thursday. But experts say that actually the risk zone is much -- is much greater than that, up to 30 miles from the airport, because shoulder-held missiles are able to strike up to a 12,000 foot ceiling.
And the Israeli company, Rafael, that's an Israeli government military research and development company, says it has a solution to ward off the shoulder-held missile threat. They call it Brightening (ph). And some of the promotion video that they've been made available to us, the way it works is a double-barreled thing that Brightening has.
First, a missile warning system. The moment it detects a missile that's been fired, it traces the threat. And then at the second stage, the automatic device directs a light beam through the path, through the trajectory of the missile, a hot light beam they call it, which directs the threat, that is the missile, from hitting the target. And all of that is done in a split second say the people at Rafael.
Now we know that fighter jets have long been equipped with deflection systems, but such systems are simply not applicable to large commercial aircraft. Now what they've done at this Israeli company said they say for the last 10 years they've been developing a program built out of a adapter from what's used in military helicopters and they were ready to go. September 11 last year was the spur for a new energy in the program and then came last Thursday, and Rafael says they've been fielding calls non-stop from all over the world about their technology. And they've begun a crash scheme to bring the Brightening device to fruition, and they say they'll make it available within four months for fitting in commercial airliners -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Jerrold, one of the -- one of the entities calling, United States calling that company to get one of those things?
KESSEL: We've heard they've had calls from all over the world. Now we're bound to say that this is only what they say it can do, and of course it hasn't been tested in a -- in any kind of a simulated situation of a commercial aircraft. But they're absolutely convinced as they adapt that technology that's fitted to military helicopters that it will work on commercial planes, and they believe they can do it within as little time as four months. Up until now they've been held up by cost factor; but since last Thursday, as I say, they say they've gone into a crash mode to produce the Brightening device.
COSTELLO: Got you.
KESSEL: They say they'll be ready in four months from now.
COSTELLO: Truly amazing.
Jerrold Kessel, thanks. We'll look forward to more details on your story later on today on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 3, 2002 - 05:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're asking the question is there any technology available to guard against shoulder-fired missiles when they're firing a missile at an airplane that's taking off from a runway? There is technology available.
We do have CNN's Jerrold Kessel on the phone. He's near Ben Gurion International in Tel Aviv.
Good morning -- Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
It's here at the airport collecting material for a package, which we'll be filing later, about these Israeli attempts, the urgent drive to find ways of deflecting that missile threat. The Israelis really believe that this has been a major escalation. You heard Benjamin Netanyahu earlier that the attempt at shooting down of the aircraft by the shoulder-held missile was really a major escalation.
Now there's a general conception that a passenger plane is most vulnerable to attack as it approaches or departs the airport like happened at Mombasa in Kenya last Thursday. But experts say that actually the risk zone is much -- is much greater than that, up to 30 miles from the airport, because shoulder-held missiles are able to strike up to a 12,000 foot ceiling.
And the Israeli company, Rafael, that's an Israeli government military research and development company, says it has a solution to ward off the shoulder-held missile threat. They call it Brightening (ph). And some of the promotion video that they've been made available to us, the way it works is a double-barreled thing that Brightening has.
First, a missile warning system. The moment it detects a missile that's been fired, it traces the threat. And then at the second stage, the automatic device directs a light beam through the path, through the trajectory of the missile, a hot light beam they call it, which directs the threat, that is the missile, from hitting the target. And all of that is done in a split second say the people at Rafael.
Now we know that fighter jets have long been equipped with deflection systems, but such systems are simply not applicable to large commercial aircraft. Now what they've done at this Israeli company said they say for the last 10 years they've been developing a program built out of a adapter from what's used in military helicopters and they were ready to go. September 11 last year was the spur for a new energy in the program and then came last Thursday, and Rafael says they've been fielding calls non-stop from all over the world about their technology. And they've begun a crash scheme to bring the Brightening device to fruition, and they say they'll make it available within four months for fitting in commercial airliners -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Jerrold, one of the -- one of the entities calling, United States calling that company to get one of those things?
KESSEL: We've heard they've had calls from all over the world. Now we're bound to say that this is only what they say it can do, and of course it hasn't been tested in a -- in any kind of a simulated situation of a commercial aircraft. But they're absolutely convinced as they adapt that technology that's fitted to military helicopters that it will work on commercial planes, and they believe they can do it within as little time as four months. Up until now they've been held up by cost factor; but since last Thursday, as I say, they say they've gone into a crash mode to produce the Brightening device.
COSTELLO: Got you.
KESSEL: They say they'll be ready in four months from now.
COSTELLO: Truly amazing.
Jerrold Kessel, thanks. We'll look forward to more details on your story later on today on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
