Boxer Urges Increased Efforts to Protect Civilian Aircraft From Shoulder-Fired Missiles

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) sent a letter today urging Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to establish a joint Department of Defense-Department of Homeland Security program to protect commercial aircraft from the threat of shoulder-fired missiles.

According to a July 2011 State Department report, more than 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by shoulder-fired missiles since the 1970s. But while many U.S. military aircraft are outfitted with defenses against these deadly weapons, commercial aircraft remain at risk.

Senator Boxer wrote, "The Administration's strong policies to secure these weapons in Libya and throughout the world are critical and I applaud these efforts. I hope you will agree that it is time to take additional steps to get ahead of this threat and protect our commercial aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles."

In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security began a program to develop and test anti-missile devices for commercial aircraft, which have proven to be effective during live-fire testing.

In the letter, Senator Boxer called on the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to work together on a joint program to further improve these systems and to work toward deployment of anti-missile technology on wide-body passenger planes, which carry larger numbers of passengers and have greater exposure overseas. Installing this technology on 500 wide-body planes would protect more than 2 billion passengers over the next 20 years.

The full text of the letter is below:

September 27, 2011

The Honorable Leon E. Panetta

Secretary of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, DC 20301

The Honorable Janet Napolitano

Secretary of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Panetta and Secretary Napolitano:

As part of the Obama Administration's budget submission for fiscal year 2013, I ask that you establish a joint Department of Defense/Department of Homeland Security program to protect commercial aircraft from the threat of shoulder-fired missiles.

According to a July 2011 State Department report, "in the hands of terrorists, criminals, or other non-state actors...shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles pose a serious threat to passenger air travel, the commercial aviation industry, and military aircraft around the world." While many U.S. military aircraft are outfitted with defenses against these deadly weapons, commercial aircraft remain at risk.

In 2003, at the direction of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security began a program to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of anti-missile devices for commercial aircraft. As a result of this program, two anti-missile systems successfully completed more than 16,000 flight hours aboard cargo and passenger aircraft. During live-fire testing, both systems successfully defended against multiple missile attacks under many attack scenarios.

As a follow-on to this effort, I ask that a new joint program be established to meet the following objectives:

* Deployment of anti-missile systems on wide-body passenger aircraft, which carry the largest numbers of passengers and frequently fly to international destinations, to protect more than 2 billion passengers over 20 years;

* Further improvement of system reliability to reduce life-cycle costs; and

* Final resolution of export control issues.

The risk to commercial aircraft posed by shoulder-fired missiles has long been acknowledged by the national security community. Recent reporting of unaccounted for missiles in Libya is yet another reminder of this threat.

The Administration's strong policies to secure these weapons in Libya and throughout the world are critical and I applaud these efforts. I hope you will agree that it is time to take additional steps to get ahead of this threat and protect our commercial aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles.

I stand ready to work with you on this important endeavor.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

Read this original document at: http://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/092711c.cfm