| YES | if the statement agrees with the views of the writer |
| NO | if the statement contradicts the views of the writer |
| NOT GIVEN | if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this |
Could Air Force One Be Hit?
A heat-seeking surface-to-air missile hurtles skyward faster than the speed of sound. In a matter of seconds, it can zero in on a plane, blasting it from the sky in a sickening burst of flame and smoke. Moreover, such missiles are all too available to terrorist groups and criminals around the world. Last week US intelligence reports indicated that the Colombian cocaine cartels may be stockpiling just such anti-aircraft devices. The fear is that the drug lords could use them to mount an attack on President George Bush when he flies into the Colombian city of Cartagena for a four-nation anti-drug summit starting Feb. 15.
Could the President’s plane be shot down? US military experts say the chances of a guerrilla group mounting a successful air attack on Air Force One are extremely small. Although the exact nature of the plane’s defenses is top secret, they are known to be formidable. Not only can the President’s Boeing 707 be protected by a full complement of military fighter jets, but the plane is also loaded with sophisticated electronic safeguards.
The heart of the defense rests in a collection of computerized equipment mounted in the 707’s cockpit. There, at a console packed with indicator lights and video monitors, a specially trained electronics war officer can monitor the air-space around Air Force One. Should danger be indicated, he can unleash several electronic countermeasures, including radar jammers, fine-tuned infrared flares and billowing clouds of metallic chaff.
The most serious threat comes from surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) launched either just before the President’s plane lands or just after it takes off. Although the Colombian drug cartels have apparently never used such weapons before — and there is still no hard evidence that they have acquired them — there are certainly plenty of SAMs, primarily US-made Stingers and Soviet-built AS-7 Grails, available through illegal channels. Both are portable, shoulder-mounted rockets that use tiny infrared sensors to home in on the heat generated by a jet engine.
The standard defense against a heat-seeking missile is to divert it with another heat source, typically a flare that emits a broad range of infrared radiation. The missile, drawn by the heat of the flare, follows it and not the plane. But modem SAMs are equipped with filters that can cancel out radiation from a simple flare. Air Force One is believed to carry flares that bum brighter and longer in the infrared frequencies that the SAMs' sensors follow.
But not all missiles are heat seekers. Air Force One must also be protected against radar-directed air-to-air missiles, like the French-built R-530's that Colombian air force jets are known to carry. These rockets spot their prey with radar beams and follow the echoes toward the target One way to divert a missile flying along a radar beam is to fire off a burst of metallic chaff particles. They cause the missile’s radar guidance system to go haywire amid a blizzard of electronic gibberish.
A more artful way to avoid an incoming missile is to deceive it with false or misleading radar signals. Air Force One is equipped with a variety of sophisticated jamming equipment designed to do just that. One widely used technique: delaying the echoes of incoming radar pulses, thus fooling the attacker into calculating that its target is farther away than it really is. Alternatively, the target plane may generate dozens of false radar echoes, each aimed slightly differently, creating the impression of a whole squadron of planes arrayed at various intervals across the sky.
Clever as these tricks may be, the equipment in Air Force One is primitive compared with what is being installed in the jumbo jet scheduled to start transporting the President in October. That $325 million “flying Taj Mahal," a specially modified Boeing 747, bristles with so much computerized hardware that it needs 57 antennas and 238 miles of wire to support its electronics. Says an official involved in its construction: “We put every last piece of modem gimmickry in that plane.”
Determined to protect its Commander in Chief from all threats, the Air Force included features that would enable his plane to survive an atomic attack, as long as a bomb did not explode too close by. Rather than use silicon computer chips and copper wire, which can melt down in the electromagnetic pulse that follows a nuclear blast, the designers are loading up the new 747 with pulse-resistant fibre-optic cable and gallium arsenide chips. Barring a direct hit from an H-bomb, the new plane should enable the President to fly anywhere in unprecedented safety and comfort.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Agreement with the passage - protection by jets and electronic safeguards
Correct Answer: YES
Why this is correct: The writer clearly states that the Boeing 707 has fighter jet protection and electronic safeguards. This directly supports the statement, so the answer is YES.
Passage Reference: US military experts say the chances of a guerrilla group mounting a successful air attack on Air Force One are extremely small. Although the exact nature of the plane's defenses is top secret, they are known to be formidable. Not only can the President's Boeing 707 be protected by a full complement of military fighter jets, but the plane is also loaded with sophisticated electronic safeguards.
Common Mistake: NOT GIVEN - Not Given trap. Students think this is missing, but it is stated very clearly.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'full complement of military fighter jets' = Statement: 'protected by fighter jets'; Passage: 'sophisticated electronic safeguards' = Statement: 'electronic defence systems'
Tips: When the passage lists two protections and the statement repeats both ideas, it is usually a YES.
Key Vocabulary:
- complement = full set
- safeguards = protections
Question Focus: Distinguishing suspicion from confirmed fact
Correct Answer: NOT GIVEN
Passage Reference: Although the Colombian drug cartels have apparently never used such weapons before - and there is still no hard evidence that they have acquired them - there are certainly plenty of SAMs, primarily US-made Stingers and Soviet-built AS-7 Grails, available through illegal channels.
Why this is correct: The writer says there is no hard evidence that the drug lords have acquired SAMs. The statement claims they have managed to acquire them, which the writer does not confirm.
Common Mistake: NO - Contradiction trap. The writer does not say the opposite, only that it is unproven.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'no hard evidence that they have acquired them' = Statement: 'have managed to acquire SAMs'
Tips: If the passage says something is unproven, do not turn it into a confirmed fact.
Key Vocabulary:
- hard evidence = clear proof
- acquired = obtained
Question Focus: Identifying a clear contradiction
Correct Answer: NO
Passage Reference: But not all missiles are heat seekers. Air Force One must also be protected against radar-directed air-to-air missiles, like the French-built R-530's that Colombian air force jets are known to carry. These rockets spot their prey with radar beams and follow the echoes toward the target
Why this is correct: The writer says R-530s are carried by Colombian air force jets, not shoulder-mounted. This directly contradicts the statement.
Common Mistake: YES - Context shift trap. Students confuse R-530s with shoulder-mounted SAMs mentioned earlier.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'air force jets are known to carry' = Statement: 'shoulder-mounted rockets'
Tips: Check who uses the weapon. Jets and soldiers are very different.
Key Vocabulary:
- air-to-air = launched from aircraft
- shoulder-mounted = carried by a person
Question Focus: Identifying increased risk situations
Correct Answer: YES
Passage Reference: The most serious threat comes from surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) launched either just before the President's plane lands or just after it takes off.
Why this is correct: The writer clearly says the most serious threat happens during landing or takeoff. This shows greater vulnerability at those times.
Common Mistake: NOT GIVEN - Not Given trap. The idea is stated directly, not implied.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'most serious threat' = Statement: 'more vulnerable'; Passage: 'lands or takes off' = Statement: 'landing or taking off'
Tips: Look for phrases like 'most serious' - they signal higher risk.
Key Vocabulary:
- vulnerable = easy to attack
- threat = danger
Question Focus: Understanding deception technology
Correct Answer: YES
Passage Reference: Alternatively, the target plane may generate dozens of false radar echoes, each aimed slightly differently, creating the impression of a whole squadron of planes arrayed at various intervals across the sky.
Why this is correct: The writer explains that false radar echoes make it seem like there are many planes, not one. This directly matches the statement.
Common Mistake: NOT GIVEN - Paraphrase trap. Different words are used, but the meaning is the same.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'dozens of false radar echoes' = Statement: 'generating series of radar echoes'; Passage: 'whole squadron of planes' = Statement: 'more than one target'
Tips: If the meaning matches even with different words, it is likely a YES.
Key Vocabulary:
- echoes = reflected signals
- squadron = group of planes
Question Focus: Identifying the real reason given
Correct Answer: NO
Passage Reference: Rather than use silicon computer chips and copper wire, which can melt down in the electromagnetic pulse that follows a nuclear blast, the designers are loading up the new 747 with pulse-resistant fibre-optic cable and gallium arsenide chips.
Why this is correct: The reason for replacing copper wire is melting during an electromagnetic pulse, not weight. The statement gives a different reason.
Common Mistake: YES - Causation trap. Students invent a cause that is never mentioned.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'can melt down in the electromagnetic pulse' = Statement: 'because the former is heavier'
Tips: Always match the reason exactly. Different reason means NO.
Key Vocabulary:
- electromagnetic pulse = energy wave after explosion
- melt down = fail due to heat
Question Focus: Understanding limitations of standard defenses
Correct Answer: YES
Passage Reference: But modem SAMs are equipped with filters that can cancel out radiation from a simple flare. Air Force One is believed to carry flares that bum brighter and longer in the infrared frequencies that the SAMs' sensors follow.
Why this is correct: The writer explains that modern SAMs can ignore simple flares, which means basic defenses are not enough. This supports the idea that they are more advanced.
Common Mistake: NO - Partial truth trap. Students focus only on Air Force One, not ordinary planes.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'cancel out radiation from a simple flare' = Statement: 'cannot be fooled by ordinary planes'
Tips: Ask yourself who the comparison is about. Here it is modern missiles versus simple defenses.
Key Vocabulary:
- filters = screening systems
- ordinary = basic or simple
Question Focus: Missing information about current status
Correct Answer: NOT GIVEN
Passage Reference: Clever as these tricks may be, the equipment in Air Force One is primitive compared with what is being installed in the jumbo jet scheduled to start transporting the President in October.
Why this is correct: The writer mentions a future plane but never clearly states whether the old Air Force One is still in service now. The specific claim is not addressed.
Common Mistake: YES - Time/tense trap. Students assume present use from past description.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'scheduled to start transporting the President in October' = Statement: 'old Air Force One is still performing its duty'
Tips: Do not assume timing. If the passage does not say it clearly, choose NOT GIVEN.
Key Vocabulary:
- scheduled = planned
- primitive = less advanced
General Tips:
- Yes No Not Given tests what the writer says or supports. Do not add your own logic.
- These questions follow passage order. Use the previous answer location to find the next one faster.
- If the passage gives no proof or says something is unconfirmed, the answer is usually NOT GIVEN.
- A clear opposite meaning means NO. Missing or unclear information means NOT GIVEN.
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