$60 million to be proposed for antimissile devices for commercial jets WASHINGTON (AP) =97 The Bush administration is being urged to spend $60=20 million researching the feasibility of devices to protect commercial planes= =20 from shoulder-fired missiles. Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the=20 House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, will submit a plan for= =20 funding the Homeland Security Department on Thursday that will include the= =20 money for the antimissile devices, according to a congressional staffer who= =20 spoke on the condition of anonymity. He wants to make sure the anti-missile= =20 program for commercial aircraft is funded, the staffer said. The Homeland=20 Security Department said in May it should cost no more than $60 million in= =20 fiscal 2004 to award contracts, figure out how the devices could be=20 integrated with airplanes and assess their performance against the possible= =20 threat, according to a report to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. But the administration never specifically asked Congress for the funds and= =20 doesn't want money earmarked for antimissile devices because it wants=20 budget flexibility, said a Homeland Security official. Concerns about=20 terrorists using lightweight rocket launchers to take down commercial=20 airliners increased in November after an unsuccessful attack on a chartered= =20 Israeli jet in Mombasa, Kenya. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of=20 Soviet-style SA-7s =97 heat-seeking rockets that can hit low-flying aircraft= =20 within three miles =97 are said to be available on the worldwide arms market= =20 for as little as several thousand dollars. World leaders meeting in Evian,= =20 France, this month acknowledged the threat and adopted a plan to restrict=20 sales of the weapons. A Homeland Security spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said= =20 the Bush administration is working aggressively to solve the problem. "We=20 are in the process of working with Congress to determine the best way to=20 continue to counter this threat," he said. But a Democratic congressman=20 who co-sponsored a bill to equip U.S. airliners with anti-missile devices=20 said the Bush administration is dragging its feet. "Congress has been=20 leading the administration into this every step of the way," said Rep.=20 Steve Israel of New York. In the report ordered by Congress, the=20 administration identified infrared jamming devices, or DIRCMs, as the most= =20 promising technology. The devices emit light that jam the missiles' guidance systems and are most= =20 effective against the older models that terrorists are most likely to use.= =20 They're made by Northrop Grumman and BAE, a British company, and already=20 deployed on military aircraft and some government planes and business jets.= =20 "To jam an SA-7 is quite feasible," said Robert Sherman, a conventional=20 weapons expert with the Federation of American Scientists. "It's a pretty=20 stupid missile." This year, Congress set aside $2 million for Homeland=20 Security to start work on the program. According to the document, the=20 agency plans to spend that money on a special staff office. In May, the=20 agency announced it was looking for proposals for missile countermeasures.= =20 One or two contracts will be awarded for DIRCMs, but other concepts would=20 be considered, the report said. For example, electronically operated=20 shoulder-fired missiles can be designed to require an enabling device so=20 that the missile won't work without the code, Sherman said. The report said= =20 the devices could be tested under live fire in 2005. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************