FedEx wants to secure your cargo with an air defence system

Top cargo delivery company FedEx wants to take the security of its cargo one notch higher. It has sought permission from the US flying regulator FAA to install a missile-defense system on its cargo aircraft.

There is a strong case for securing cargo jets against heat-seeking missiles. FedEx told FAA that in recent years, there have been incidents when civilian aircraft have been fired upon by man-portable missile systems. FedEx is proposing to install an anti-missile system that aims to fire infrared laser toward any incoming missile. The laser would interrupt the missile’s ability to track the aircraft’s heat signature. The plan is to install this system on Airbus A321-200 airplanes.

FedEx's submission to the FAA states that "in recent years, in several incidents abroad, civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS). This has led several companies to design and adapt systems like a laser-based missile-defense system for installation on civilian aircraft, to protect those aircraft against heat-seeking missiles." The cargo company is also proposing to build safeguards, so as to prevent any inadvertent mis-firing, or collateral damage.

This won't be the first time for an anti-missile safeguard on commercial airlines. These have been installed in US commercial aircraft way back in 2008. In fact, Israeli passenger airline El Al fitted a missile defense system as far back as in 2004. But the threat of missile attacks on airlines and cargo jets is now being increasingly seen as a real one.