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FedEx Asks Permission to Install Anti-Missile Lasers on Its Cargo Jet:
FedEx has asked the US Federal Aviation Administration if it could install anti-missile lasers on cargo jets, according to a request filed earlier this month. The FAA request is set to be published on the public register next week.
Heat-seeking missiles detect and target heat from cargo jet engines, and because these planes are less maneuverable that a fighter jet, they're hard to shake off. Gizmodo reports that anti-missile lasers act like a distraction, shining an infrared laser directly at the missile to disrupt its ability to track a heat signature.
Although it may seem out of left field, supply chain issues have been causing food and product shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last year, hackers even deployed ransomware attacks on a major agricultural services provider. With those cyberpunk logistics challenges in mind, FedEx's application makes a little more sense.
"In recent years, in several incidents abroad, civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air defense systems," the application letter reads.
[...] When FedEx first tested similar equipment back in 2008, CBS reported the lasers were eye-safe. In addition, Gizmodo reports that the current application includes new features, reporting and important safety information for airline crew. The lasers really shouldn't pose a problem to civilians on the ground, then, and it makes us wonder — should all passenger planes have this tech?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday January 19 2022, @12:40AM (5 children)
Hey, I *like* some articles of mens' clothing, okay? They're better built than what gets marketed to us and steel-toed workboots are awesome. That doesn't make me a cross-dresser, it makes me someone who likes durability in her clothes.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 19 2022, @01:01AM (1 child)
I can't blame you. How do so many women live without usable pockets?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 19 2022, @02:02AM
They want you instead to wear a giant pocket called a "purse." Alternatively you can just have your boy toy carry stuff for you.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday January 19 2022, @01:18AM (1 child)
Marketed to us ... lesbians (is that right? I'm getting a weak neuron fire on that one), or us women? Seems like there's a huge market gap for women who want the functionality and durability of men's work clothes, but want a little more female-oriented, er, fit? Fashion? Not sure, but something that better matches women's needs/preferences.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday January 19 2022, @02:43PM
something that better matches women's needs/preferences
More accurately, body shape. Women need room for hooters, but not for balls.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 19 2022, @01:30AM
I never understood 'boy shoes'.
Feet are just feet, right?
(That and women have been conditioned to cripple themselves from a young age by walking in heels.)