The United States is expected to dispatch dozens of former military personnel in an effort to help locate and destroy weapons stockpiles previously belonging to deposed Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, the Washington Post newspaper reported Friday.
US officials fret that surface-to-air missiles could be used by terrorists to down passenger planes, DPA reported.
The 30-million-dollar programme reflects efforts to secure the North African country's conventional weapons after the Arab Spring's most violent conflict, the Post reported.
The former dictator was one of the world's biggest buyers of shoulder-fired missiles and purchased around 20,000 units in the 70s and 80s.
The weapons are able to inflict limited damage on military aircraft but could be deadly to passenger jets, the Post reported.
NATO airstrikes destroyed thousands of the missiles during the war and the country's new government has recovered hundreds. But an unknown number remain unaccounted for, having been carried off by civilians and rebel groups, the Post reported.
Egyptian officials said several missiles have already been recovered on the desert road stretching between Egypt and Libya, the Post reported.
The task of securing the weapons lies mainly in the hands of Libya's transitional national government - although the government has asked for help - as US President Barack Obama has refused to put US boots on the ground, the Post reported.
More than 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by shoulder-fired missiles since the 1970s, according to the Post.