Bombardier Global 7500 gains EASA certification for missile defense system

Ondas Inc. says its BIRD Aerosystems subsidiary has installed a missile defense system on a Bombardier Global 7500 and received certification for the installation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The company said the approval confirms the installation meets applicable European airworthiness requirements.

The system is called the Airborne Missile Protection System. It is designed to protect aircraft from shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and other infrared-guided threats, using sensors to detect approaching missiles, verify and track threats, and direct infrared countermeasures against missile guidance systems. BIRD's SPREOS technology pairs radar-based threat verification with laser countermeasures.

Certification allows the Global 7500 to carry the equipment as part of its approved configuration. Ondas did not name the operator or say what the installation cost.

According to the company, the system is meant for military, government and civilian aircraft flying where infrared-guided missiles are a threat. Eric Brock, Ondas chairman and chief executive, said protecting high-value aircraft and government aviation assets from increasingly sophisticated missile threats is a growing defense requirement.

Ondas acquired Israel-based BIRD Aerosystems in March. It said at the time that BIRD's protection systems were fitted to more than 700 aircraft across more than 40 types. Missile defense technology has been tested on commercial aircraft before. In 2007, Northrop Grumman began operational testing of its laser-based Guardian system on a FedEx MD-10 under a Department of Homeland Security program looking at protection against shoulder-fired missiles.