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El Al teams up with ViaSat for speedy in-flight WiFi on flights to Europe
ViaSat's not yet a household name here in the US, but the company's super-fast WiFi is well on its way, due in no small part to successful launches on JetBlue and United. Now, the satellite provider is set to bring its Exede in-flight internet to El Al passengers, operating on several 737s between Tel Aviv and cities in Europe. Unlike the North American service, which connects to ViaSat-1, this European counterpart will hook up with Eutelsat's Ka-Sat, with ViaSat's terminals and antennas handling the connection on each plane. El Al plans to launch the Ka-band service within the next year.
SkyShield protects airliners from missile strikes, completes testing in Israel
SkyShield, created by Israel's Elbit Systems, has reportedly been under development for the better part of a decade, but the laser-based missile deflector has just now successfully completed live testing. The Multi-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure (MUSIC) device, which is mounted on an aircraft's belly, uses a thermal camera paired with a laser to change the direction of approaching missiles, saving airliners and passengers from destruction. When the camera detects a missile, it rotates the plane so that the belly faces the approaching weapon. It then fires a laser beam, redirecting the missile so it can explode a safe distance away. It's not clear when the technology will begin rolling out, but according to Haaretz, SkyShield will be used on all Israeli civilian aircraft, many of which operate around the world.
