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The Homeland Security Department has issued a congressionally mandated solicitation for alternative technologies to counter the threat of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) to commercial airliners.
The April 14 solicitation comes as the DHS has been criticized for focusing too much on MANPADS and isn't listening to companies tackling other aircraft threats (DAILY, Dec. 12, 2005). Industry has been awaiting a decision on the leading DHS counter-MANPADS effort, the Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) program, between Northrop Grumman's Guardian system and BAE Systems' JetEye.
"While that demonstration program is proceeding well, the Congress has funded DHS to assess alternative approaches employing emerging technologies that may have the potential for defeating MANPADS in a layered defense environment," the department said.
In turn, the major thrust of the Emerging Counter-MANPADS Technologies (ECMT) assessment program, funded up to $7 million, is to evaluate and demonstrate emerging - yet potentially available in the near-term - technologies that prove to be the most mature and promising in defeating the MANPADS threat to commercial aviation, the DHS said.
ECMT seeks existing component technologies and will not undertake the development of new technologies, the DHS maintained, as well as not assess aircraft-borne DIRCM systems.
Technology approaches to counter-MANPADS other than aircraft-borne DIRCM systems are in various stages of development and maturity throughout Defense Department programs, the DHS noted. The DHS is looking for such technologies that are expected to be at technology readiness level (TRL) six or TRL seven.
For purposes of analysis of ground-based systems, the airports of interest will be limited to Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Newark, N.J. (EWR), San Diego (SAN) and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA).
Coverage is supposed to encompass 360-degrees azimuth with elevation angles commensurate of typical commercial flight and MANPADS profiles of up to 18,000 feet above ground level. Ground-based or hybrid systems must protect air space bounded by the threat envelope applied to the standard commercial approach and takeoff corridors, nominally extending up to 65 miles from airports.
White papers are due May 12 and a request for proposals should be published May 26, the DHS said. Up to four contracts could be announced July 14.
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