Convention Clips: Global Express, BBJ may get missile spoofers

Total Aircraft Services is exploring the possibility of STCs to install BAE Systems’ Matador infrared missile countermeasure equipment on corporate jets such as the Global Express and BBJ. The system uses modulating IR lamps to disarm shoulder-launched heat-seeking missiles.

The relatively inexpensive weapons–which the company calls the “weapon of choice for low-brow terrorists”–can bring down an aircraft by locking onto its hot engine exhaust. The proposed unit prevents lock-on by tricking the missile’s sensors into believing the weapon is in a different location. The antimissile system has already received approval for installation in the tail of the GIV-SP.