Israel, a small country that is mostly surrounded by hostile neighbors, has managed to hold its own for so many decades now, with a history that spans back to thousands of years. They have been a target of terrorist attacks from time to time, and passengers aboard commercial aircraft who happen to fly to and from Israel can heave a sigh of relief soon thanks to an invisible shield made that is known as MUSIC. MUSIC happens to be an acronym for MUlti-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure, where this fast acting laser system is more than capable of deflecting shoulder-mounted missiles.
All that it takes are half a dozen seconds to detect an incoming rocket or missile, where MUSIC will then deflect it without requiring the airplane’s pilot to perform any kind of evasive maneuvers at all. Recently, a commercial version of the technology called C-MUSIC was tested and it is more than ready to be mounted on the underbellies of aircraft that have been deemed to be at-risk. I wonder whether Air Force One has better security measures than these, other than having escorts.
The C-MUSIC system works this way – it detects incoming missiles thanks to infrared sensors, before it sends a laser straight into the target’s navigation system in order to propel it off-course. Hopefully there won’t be any kind of collateral damage this way, but it would be best if the missile can be sent back to where it was fired from.