Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS), otherwise known as shoulder-fired missiles, pose a clear threat to commercial aviation. Over the past twenty years, numerous aircraft have been fired upon by MANPADS in countries outside the U.S. The proliferation of MANPADS has escalated to the point that there is now serious concern of an attack in the U.S. Such an attack would ground the nation's airline fleets with a resulting economic impact estimated by the Department of Transportation to be 10 billion U.S. dollars per week. This figure, of course, does not account for the potential tragic loss of human life in the air and on the ground.

Economic realities may prevent retrofitting the entire U.S. airline fleet with the most expensive MANPAD countermeasures. Of primary concern is the Civil Reserve Airline Fleet (CRAF). These large jets are U.S. registered airliners (both passenger airlines and all-cargo airlines) that fly in support of our U.S. troops abroad. At present they are the most vulnerable, and should be outfitted first. Also, different manufacturers provide different successful solutions. Some only require the infrastructure for countermeasures installation be permanently attached to the aircraft, so fewer units must be purchased, and the countermeasure package can be "bolted" on in a timely manner before flying into harms way. Other solutions include ground-based systems that do not require aircraft modification, and can protect airports that are considered most vulnerable. The remainder of the nation's fleet can be phased in over time with respect to a threat-based analysis.

MANPADS is not an airport perimeter issue. The operating envelope of this weapon system could enable an attacker to be "away" from the airport environment. Airports such as Honolulu, HI, are to be commended for going beyond their perimeter in order to deal with this threat.