LOS ANGELES, June 26 (UPI) -- The California desert will be the site of a test that could determine how airliners will be protected from shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
General Dynamics will test its Counter Man-Portable Air Defense System (CMAPS) system in a fully integrated demonstration in August at the Navy's China Lake range in the Southern California desert.
CMAPS is the result of a $10 million development contract from the Department of Defense. It is a ground-based system that defends aircraft against MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) such as the Stinger missile during takeoff and landing. Security officials worry that terrorists could use such a missile to down an airliner near a major airport.
While other anti-MANPADS systems under development are mounted on the planes themselves, Congress directed the government to come up with an alternative that doesn't require installation on the aircraft. If successful, CMAPS could be deployed to airports and military airfields as a backup or a replacement for the airborne systems.
CMAPS uses a high-speed tracking sensor to lock on the MANPADS missile and an infrared countermeasures device to disrupt the missile's ability to home in on the target's engine.
General Dynamics said in a statement that the CMAPS had been through rigorous testing in the past year. CMAPS was able to detect and track more than 30 missiles in Nevada and China Lake last year. The countermeasures component was tested in Indiana last month.
The August exercise will mark the first time the components have been tested as a single system.
