Flight Guard is anElta Systems Ltd's brand name for a family of airborne systems for protecting civilian aircraft againstman-portable air-defense systems.
The solution is part ofElbit Systems’ MUSIC™[1] family, which offers a series of advancedDIRCM (Directed Infrared Counter Measures) systems designed to protect aircraft from heat-seeking missiles, particularly shoulder-fired MANPADS. Alongside it, the J-MUSIC™ system was developed for large aircraft such as transport and refueling planes, and the Mini-MUSIC™ system is intended for helicopters and small to medium-sized aircraft.
Elta's Flight Guard is a missile detection and avoidance system that is installed on more than 200 military aircraft and helicopters as well as on several VIP commercial aircraft, and has been also installed in aircraft of theEl Al,[2][3]Arkia[4] andIsrair[4] fleets that fly to high risk destinations.
In September 2003, a year afteran attempt was made to shoot down anArkia Israel AirlinesBoeing 757 inMombasa, Kenya in 2002,[5] the Israeli Ministry of Transportation selected Elta Systems to perform advanced flight tests of Flight Guard for protecting its commercial aircraft. Part of the funding was used to obtain certification of the system byIsrael's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The system chosen comprised a radar-basedmissile approach warning system (MAWS) and countermeasure dispensing system. The system was chosen since it is specifically designed to defend low-flying aircraft againstMANPADs, such as those utilized in the attack in Kenya. The automated system usesdoppler radar to detect incoming missiles, before firing IMI-designed civilianflares asdecoys against incominginfrared-homed missiles. It was planned that the production flares used would be invisible to the human eye.[6][7]
The system has proved controversial, with both Switzerland and theFAA[citation needed] in the US raising fire hazard safety concerns. The Swiss have stated that any aircraft with the system installed will be grounded, despite uncovering a plot to down an El Al aircraft in that country;[8] other European countries have indicated that they might follow suit.[9]
Although Flight Guard was approved by theIsraeli CAA and several other countries, the Israel authority decided to buy a laser-based jamming system called Multi-SpectralInfrared Countermeasure (MUSIC) which began development in 2008, that does not use flares.[10]