We live in a world which is in a state of war against terrorism all the time. Nothing can be proclaimed safe since we have seen how these terrorists are capable of intruding into the safest of areas.
So it is not a big surprise when we see technology being used to come up with defense measures against such threats. It helps us sleep better at night, knowing that scientists and engineers are working together to come up with newer systems that will be able to protect us from all such threats around us.
Israel’s commercial aircrafts are usually under threat of terrorist attacks but now, passengers who shall be taking off from Israel or landing in Israel can travel without fear since the new MUSIC system is being employed for these at-risk aircrafts. This new system will be able to deflect any missile that has been aimed at the aircraft. MUSIC stands for Multi-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure and is essentially a laser system that is capable of responding to threats of shoulder-mounted missiles. It takes about six seconds for a rocket to be fired and hit its target. However, MUSIC is capable of intercepting that missile within those six seconds and render it useless. This whole process is completed without any input from pilot’s end which makes it an autonomous system
Recently, a commercial version for this system which is known as C-MUSIC has undergone tests and is all set to be used in the field. MUSIC makes use of, as is apparent from its name, infrared sensors that detect the incoming missile and the system then shoots a laser aimed at the navigation system of missile, sending it off its course.
Once the missile is taken care of, the pilot and air traffic controllers shall be sent a notification which would tell them that terrorists are present but the threat has been dealt with. According to sources; the first airline that will be installing this system is going to be El AL Airlines (Israel). However, Elbit Systems (the developers) , have told us that airlines from all over the world are interested in this system. Although, be warned that this system will not ensure 100 % success rate.
Check out the video below for more details:
That should protect the engines from Birds at the same time.