A single person can target a plane using a heat-seeking missile with the right military equipment. FedEx wants to install a laser-based, anti-missile defense system on its cargo planes in order to protect them from missiles.
The basics of how heat-seeking missiles work are easy to understand. They target and track a source of heat, such as the hot air coming out of a jet's engine, and automatically make in-flight course adjustments so the missile reaches its target without any input from the weapon's operator. They have been popularized in action movies, but the technology is not perfect.
Military planes carry flares that can be remotely ignited and ejected by a pilot to throw off a heat-seeking missile's targeting system with an alternate heat source, while the plane itself performs evasive maneuvers in an attempt to fool the incoming projectile. Larger aircraft have larger heat signatures as a result of multiple jet engines under each wing and are less maneuverable than a fighter jet. An alternative solution is to use a device that emits an IR laser at an incoming missile in order to disrupt its ability to track the aircraft. It is similar to someone trying to catch a baseball with the sun in their eyes, but with the sun actively targeting the person wearing the glove.
FedEx's request to the FAA didn't come completely out of left field. In 2008, the company worked with the company to test its anti-missile laser-based defense systems on 12 of the shipping company's cargo planes. Although no commercial orders had been placed at the time, a company spokesman said that the system was ready to be deployed on civilian aircraft. That may have changed.
The proposed hardware for the anti-missile systems on FedEx's cargo planes is the same as that of the other company, but FedEx doesn't mention it in its application to the FAA.
The application document states that there were several incidents abroad where civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air defense systems, which are nearly impossible to detect.
The biggest problem with FedEx is that the FAA design standards do not adequately address the ability of a design feature to project laser energy outside the airplane. The defense system is being considered a novel or unusual design feature and will be subjected to several special safety regulations because of how dangerous the intense IR light can be to the skin and eyes of people on the ground and on other aircraft.
The ability to completely disabling the system while the airplane is on the ground will be included in the regulations. They require extensive markings, labels, warnings, and documentation for everyone from maintenance staff to ground crew, to pilots, warning them of the laser's class and risks, including an addendum to the flight manual explaining the complete use of the system.
The public is encouraged to send their comments and concerns about the proposed inflight defense system once FedEx's request is published in the Federal Register next week. It is safe to assume that this special request will be met with some apprehension, particularly from those who have done their research. It is hard to imagine FedEx not being given the go-ahead to help protect the nation's fragile supply chain, given how military equipment has found its way into many aspects of American life.
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