FedEx recently asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to equip its cargo planes with lasers. Why? To prevent them from being hit by heat-seeking missiles.
FedEx noted that there have been “several incidents abroad” in which “civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air defense systems.” In light of this, the company submitted an application to the FAA requesting that it be allowed to install laser-based anti-missile systems on its Airbus Model A321-200 cargo planes. These systems work by shining an infrared laser directly at a missile to disrupt its heat-seeking capabilities, thus throwing it off course.
Gizmodo reports that FedEx’s full application will be published Jan. 18 in the Federal Register. The public will then be able to submit comments before the FAA makes its decision.
