Germany equips ministerial planes with anti-missile lasers

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Germany equips ministerial planes with anti-missile lasers
Oct 4, 2010, 15:09 GMT

Berlin - Germany is equipping the jets that carry Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers on official trips with laser systems designed to foil missile attacks, a Defence Ministry official said Monday.

Berlin is currently replacing the fleet of ministerial planes, which are operated by the German air force. Two 44-passenger A319 Airbus planes have gone into service and two bigger A340 jets and four Bombardier executive jets are to be delivered next year.

The spokesman said only that 'certain planes' in the fleet would have the equipment, which baffles homing systems on surface-to-air missiles.

The Financial Times Deutschland reported that Germany would pay 146 million dollars for a system from US company Northrop Grumman already in use on air force transport planes and fighter jets.



Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1588925.php/Germany-equips-ministerial-planes-with-anti-missile-lasers

[melm00se]

1. zap!!

take that Darth Vader

[HereSince1628]

2. Popping flares is so last century

I'm guessing that system doesn't run on VISTA.

[14thColony]

7. Some of the newer (1990s+) IR missiles are immune to flares...

...for all practical purposes. For those and the next generation ones coming out now, frying the ultra-sensitive electronics in the seeker head is about all you can do to stop one.

[Ian David]

3. I have but one, simple request-- and that's ministerial planes with frickin' laserbeams...

... attached to their heads!

[DetlefK]

4. How about some angry mutant Sea Bass instead?

That will surely baffle any incoming missiles.

[Roland99]

5. That's standard issue on their new subs

[Kolesar]

6. German "Bombardier" aircraft

Settle down, grandpa, it's not what you think!

[and-justice-for-all]

8. I am ok with that...

no different than carrying a gun here, and I know that the Germans are not going to fly around killing people at random either.

[Regret My New Name]

9. They're not death rays...

[Vehl]

10. Probably something similar to the Boldstroke or ALQ-157M missile jamming systems

http://weapons.technology.youngester.com/2010/06/boldstroke-baes-laser-guided.html

http://www.aiaa.org/tc/sur/Pages/ALQ-157M.pdf