Project Description

This proposed pilot project is consistent with the directives of the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection (EPCIP) as it aims at providing protection against acts of terrorism and disruptions or manipulations of critical infrastructure (CI) in order to save lives and property of people at risk in the EU. It is also consistent with EPCIP suggested key principles of subsidiarity and stakeholder cooperation because it reorganizes that the owner/operator has a primary responsibility for protecting CI and that other stakeholders contribute to the development and implementation of remedies according to their role.
This pilot project intends to address, in a systematic and comprehensive manner, the challenge of airport structures security. The aim of the project is to develop and implement technology necessary to deny access of intruders or terrorists to critical facilities. It is envisioned that such technology will initially consist of three classes of products, from stand-off fences for protection against low-level threats (i.e., intruders and burglars) to barriers for protection against high-level threats delivered by an impacting vehicle loaded with explosive charges (vehicle borne improvised explosive device = vbied). The intermediate-level threat will consist of the risk posed by an individual carrying an explosive charge (improvised explosive device = ied). The challenge is in providing the desired level of protection using material systems that maintain radio frequency (RF) permeability in order to not interfere with air traffic management and control systems.
The overall activity will consist of the design, construction, and testing of prototypes for analytical and experimental validation. The experiments will include laboratory tests to verify element capacity under quasi-static loads and to determine RF transparency. Tests will also be conducted at a firing range to subject selected elements to representative live charges. The project will produce the specifications necessary for the standardisation of this technology in compliance with European regulations.
The project will be carried out by a consortium of five partners consisting of a research centre (AMRA), a facility owner/operator (ENAV), a consulting engineering and design firm (Weidlinger), a manufacturing company (ATP), and a material supplier (Saint-Gobain). This team has all the characteristics necessary for the full deployment of the technology from inception to field installation within the planned 12-month project time frame.
The project will be completed with the fencing for two ENAV sites at in the Campania Region (possible locations are: Pomigliano, NA, Teano, CA, and Sorrento, NA) during late Spring of 2007. The financial resources necessary for the field deployment at these two sites will be provided by ENAV and are not included in this project budge. The two selected sited will be home of VOR navigation systems part of the Eurocontrol System. This means a critical infrastructure to EU because in the case of service interruption a very significant prejudice occurs to all air route traffic, commercial and general, through the European FIR (Flight Information Region) on the Italian peninsula, between N/S and E/W airways.

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