Manpad Mitigation System Should Be.

¶ … MANPAD mitigation system should be. Reinforce your opinion with facts.

A current state-of-the-art MANPAD mitigation system takes into consideration many different avenues of both prevention and direct countermeasures to these devices. According to the FAA's 2007 report entitled, National Strategy for Aviation Security, MANPADS represent a very real threat to large passenger and cargo aircraft, and this threat is often very difficult to overcome completely.

The first step in mitigating the risk of MANPAD attacks on aircraft is through MANPAD proliferation countermeasures (FAA, 2007). The U.S. State Department and other regulatory bodies need to enforce the current ban on these weapons and seek out places where illegal arms trafficking is occurring to help stem the flow of MANPAD systems into places where use against the U.S. is possible. This first step, if done correctly, will have the largest impact in lowering the possibility of MANPAD attacks on U.S. soil.

Secondly, U.S. law enforcement agencies and airports themselves need to be familiar with how MANPADS operate in order to combat them successfully. Certain terrain features reduce the capabilities of MANPADS while others would be helpful in MANPAD use (TSA, 2006). Airports and their security personnel need to make sure that both the airport itself and the areas immediately around the airport are secured. Until a jet reaches a safe altitude, a MANPAD can be launched from a ground or sea-based platform quite successfully, even a few miles from where the plane is landing or taking off. Until a reasonable altitude that allows aircraft some protection from MANPADS can be reached, aircraft flying in and out of airports need to be protected by a security buffer.

The third part of a state-of-the-art MANPAD mitigation system consists of direct MANPAD countermeasures. These countermeasures can be adapted to fit directly on the aircraft themselves, and pilots can be trained to use them in case of a MANPAD attack (FAA, 2007). These countermeasures can be quite costly, and implementing them on all large aircraft is cost prohibitive. The countermeasures should be used as a last resort, and the majority of the emphasis of the mitigation system should be placed on MANPAD proliferation regulation and enforcement as well as airport design and security implementation. Airports need to also have a well-trained MANPAD threat response team that is familiar with combating MANPAD type weapons and tactics. This team needs to have the ability to respond quickly and effectively to any terrorist threat, with emphasis on MANPAD threats and attacks. Even after a MANPAD attack occurs, those in the aircraft as well as those on the ground need to understand how to respond effectively to reduce the possibility of further damage or attacks.

2 ?" Examine the issue of planning the airport of the future in terms of minimizing the MANPAD threat. It is far easier to build systems into new designs than it is to attempt to modify existing ones.

Since large airports are relatively costly and require permanent structures, it is much easier to build anti-MANPAD systems and strategies into new airports than it is to attempt to modify older, existing airports. Existing airports that have poorly designed security buffers or areas that are difficult to patrol and monitor have the highest potential for MANPAD attacks. Those airports that can be designed with the MANPAD threat in mind stand the best chance of operating without an attack.