Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[Fred Langford]

Paul,

Keep an eye on ALOG, hearing this should be finalized with DARPA by April 15.

Wilton, N.H.-Based Sanders Design International Inks Missile-Defense Deal
3/13/2003 - 2:42:00 PM





By Brad Leighton

WILTON, N.H., Mar 12, 2003 (The Telegraph - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) --Sanders Design International has signed a contract with a Massachusetts-based company that could bring missile-defense systems to thousands of commercial aircraft.

Sanders and Peabody, Mass.-based Analogic Corp. inked the deal Tuesday. Analogic will test, manufacture and deploy an aircraft missile-defense system designed by Sanders. The system protects commercial and military aircraft from shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles.

The advantage of the Sanders missile-defense system is that it is just a fraction of the cost of systems now used on military aircraft and it is more effective than current systems, particularly when more than one missile is fired at once, said Bernard Gordon, Analogic's founder, chairman and chief executive officer.

"Al-Qaida's training manual says to fire more than one missile at a time," said Al Hastbacka, Sanders Design's president. A typical air missile-defense system can cost between $1 million to $2 million. "We think we can do it for a quarter to a fifth of that cost."

Sander's Design chose Analogic because it has showed ability to quickly speed up production if demand picks up faster than expected, Hastbacka said.

For example, the company increased production of its airport terminal explosive-detecting devices from five units a month in April to 120 units by December, Hastbacka said.

A bill introduced in Congress could cause demand for such systems to skyrocket. On Feb. 5, the "Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act" was introduced in the House and Senate as a result of an attempted shoot-down of an Israeli airliner in Africa by an infrared missile in November. This proposed legislation requires all commercial aircraft to be outfitted with an automatic counter-missile system.

There are about 6,800 U.S. commercial aircraft. All are now vulnerable to guided missiles during low-level approach, landing and take-off up to 15,000 feet of elevation. The Sanders missile defense would be turned on only when the aircraft is vulnerable, Hastbacka said. It weighs about 100 pounds compared to 500 pounds on military aircraft. The system may also be used on military airplanes, he added.

The Sanders system fools missiles through a system that essentially displaces the heat source away from the aircraft, Hastbacka said. How it does that is a trade secret, he added.

Sanders Design would get a royalty for each system sold, so the value of the contract will ultimately depend on the success of the product, Hastbacka said.

Sanders Design and Analogic started negotiating the agreement in November. "It is a relatively quick negotiation period, but Royden Sanders and I have known each other for three decades," Gordon said.

Sanders founded the Wilton company in 1984 and now serves as its chairman. More than 50 years ago he founded Sanders Associates, which has become the local division of BAE Systems and the state's largest manufacturer...

Fred