Ben-Gurion implemented Rontal's SimGuard 3000 planning and simulation system to help security managers define the precise areas threatened by MANPADS. The airport's security professionals used the system to test several scenarios in which potential attackers attempted to launch MANPAD missiles from various locations. After reviewing the simulations' results, Ben-Gurion’s Security Division took the necessary precautions to minimize threats in the vicinity of departure and landing routes.
Pre-loaded with relevant data such as the missile type and its properties, the simulator identifies those areas outside the airport from where a missile could be launched. After the operator defines a specific launch location from among all possible launch zones, the system calculates and displays the actual risk point in a specific aircraft's flight path.
"The simulator is a planning tool that analyzes threats according to weapon system specifications and parameters, aircraft speed and location, and actions that can be taken in the event of a fired missile," says Shmuel Zakai, Security Division head at Ben-Gurion Airport. "We used the system to run different scenarios, which helped us optimize our security plans. For example, we tested one scenario in which a truck loaded with explosives stopped outside the airport with the intention of attacking a civilian aircraft while taxiing. Based on the simulation's results, we raised the airport's perimeter fence so that airplanes are not visible in that area while taxiing." |
