Smaller is Better by Fred E. Foldvary, Senior Editor Last week,
surface-to-air missiles were fired at an Israeli jet airliner in
Kenya. The attack failed; the missiles did not hit the planes.
But the attempt to bring down airplanes with such shoulder-held
weapons demonstrates a threat to all air travel. These missiles
use infrared tracking to steer them to the heat radiating from
the airplane. Now that air travel has been made more secure
within an airplane, the terrorists can switch tactics and try to
destroy airplanes from the outside. A shoulder-fired missile can
be bought for a few thousands dollars. The technology, such as
particles and lasers, to protect a jetliner from such missiles
is extremely costly, and so far mainly confined to the military.
Without this technology, airliners are defenseless. Israeli
civilian aircraft may already be using it, but no others are. It
is also costly to guard airports against attack. For example,
the ocean near an airport could be patrolled by naval ships.
Land routes