Israeli plane headed to UAE equipped with system to protect from missiles

The El Al plane that flew on Monday from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi was equipped with a missile-defense system to protect it against aerial threats.

The Elbit Systems Directed IR Countermeasures (DIRCM) protects aircraft by detecting, tracking and jamming incoming infrared threats, including heat-seeking ground-to-air missiles and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. They also are known as man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADs).

The plane, the first direct flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, was equipped with extra security. It flew with a high-level American and Israeli delegation over Saudi airspace.

Elbit System’s DIRCM integrates Advanced Fiber Laser Technology along with a high-frame-rate thermal camera and a small highly dynamic mirror turret. Its four cameras can detect the launch of a missile and aim the laser beam toward the missile’s heat-seeking warhead to blind it and divert it from the aircraft.

The system has been installed on commercial Israeli aircraft, the Italian Air Force’s C27J, C130J and AW101 helicopter platforms, the Brazilian Air Force’s KC-390 and NATO’s Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF). The system was installed over the last few days on the El Al plane. (Read More)