Last week the Israeli Ministry of Transportation and defense electronics contractor Elbit Systems Ltd. signed a $76 million contract to supply Israel's Transportation Ministry with a system that disrupts missiles fired at commercial aircraft.



The system, called commercial multi-spectral infrared countermeasure (C-MUSIC), will be supplied by Elbit Systems' wholly owned subsidiary, Elbit Systems Electro-optics El-Op Ltd.

The system will be installed aboard a variety of commercial aircraft owned and operated by Israeli commercial airlines.



C-MUSIC is based on the MUSIC system, a direct infra-red countermeasure technology for military aircraft and helicopters that disrupts missiles fired at aircraft and causes them to veer off course by transmitting a laser beam. The system's reliability, rapid response and ability to deal with multiple threats are considered to be among the most advanced of its kind in the world.

Aviation industries and air forces around the world have expressed increasing interest in the system and its capabilities.