Weapon Eyed in Malaysia Jet Crash Can't Tell Planes Apart

he powerful Cold War-era Buk missile system was built to protect Soviet army units from attacking aircraft during wartime. Unlike fixed-weapons used for national air defense, a Buk system in the field being used by separatist rebels likely wouldn't have information from air-traffic control centers, said Steve Zaloga, a senior analyst for the Teal Group Corp. in Virginia.

"The Buk system is not designed for peacetime use where it interacts with air traffic control," Zaloga said. "They would have seen a radar blip at 33,000 feet, but that's all they would have seen."