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FedEx wants to put anti-missile lasers on its cargo planes

FedEx is known worldwide for its delivery service, both on land and in the air. But the latter would be more threatened than ever.

The announcement sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, yet FedEx’s concerns are very real. Indeed, the company known worldwide for its delivery work is not very serene about the safety of its air fleet. According to a very last request that the firm has just made to the FAA, the American federation of aviation, FedEx would like to install anti-aircraft missile lasers on some of its cargo planes.

An announcement that might seem surprising at first, but which is ultimately only the observation of a current geopolitical situation. In response to this request, the FAA opened a 45-day public comment period. Once this period of time has elapsed, the federation will look into the subject itself, taking into account Fedex’s requests, but also the fears and desires of the general public.

If all this may seem exaggerated, you should know that the world of air cargo has been the target, whether intentional or not, of military missile fire for several years. While incidents are rare, flying over certain countries drastically increases the risks and there are dozens of examples of situations where we came close to the worst.

A past that pleads the cause of FedEx

One of the most telling examples for FedEx, and which was mentioned in the documentation of the mark submitted to the FAA, is the accident of a DHL A380 which was struck in 2003 by a surface-to-air missile just after its takeoff from the Iraqi capital in Baghdad. At the time, the incident caused a lot of talk, when the United States had just entered the war in the country.

Closer to home, in 2014, a surface-to-air missile destroyed a Malaysia Airlines plane as it flew over contested areas in eastern Ukraine. The toll had been catastrophic, with 298 people dead in the crash.

According to information provided by FedEx and disclosed to the general public by the FAA, these anti-missile installations should take place on Airbus A321-200s. A fairly common twin-engine aircraft in the world of airliners, but which FedEx does not currently operate. However, the firm has the largest freight fleet in the world with more than 650 aircraft in total, but no A321-200.

FedEx is not the first to make this request

If the will to secure its planes is great on the part of FedEx, many voices have also risen to defend the public interest, they who assure that the abundant use of infrared light, as the firm would like to do, could be a great nuisance for the people on board, but also the other crew members and passengers of neighboring aircraft, not to mention the people on the ground who could also be impacted by such a laser.

The FAA will therefore have to weigh the pros and cons of each situation. While safety is obviously paramount in the air, the question is whether the establishment of such a defense system is a major nuisance for the rest of the aeronautical world or not. This question is in any case not very recent. Already in the aftermath of September 11, the United States and the airlines had mobilized to develop this kind of system, without ever finding a viable and safe solution for everyone.

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