Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Tuesday January 18 2022, @11:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the Pew!-Pew!-Pew! dept.

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?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 19 2022, @07:13PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 19 2022, @07:13PM (#1213904)

    At this point, I'm more than half convinced that Runaway and Azuma are both accounts run by the same individual, just for 'the lulz'.

    No other theory has been able to explain what I see across multiple stories and comment threads nearly as well.