Why doesn the NRC install anti-aircraft weapons at nuclear power plants to protect them against an airborne terrorist attack?
The deployment of anti-aircraft weapons would be a decision for the Secretary of Defense, not the NRC. However, NRC believes that application of anti-aircraft weapons would present significant command and control challenges, particularly relating to the time required to identify a hostile aircraft and get permission to shoot down a civilian commercial aircraft and the potential for collateral damage to the surrounding community. Additional information on this subject can be found in the testimony provided by former Chairman Meserve to the U.S. House of Representatives on April 11, 2002 , and to the U.S. Senate on June 5, 2002 .
Related Questions
- Why doesn the NRC install anti-aircraft weapons at nuclear power plants to protect them against an airborne terrorist attack?
- Are nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities vulnerable to terrorist attacks? Is anything being done to protect them?
- What actions has the NRC required nuclear power plants to implement to protect against deliberate aircraft attacks?
