FedEx wants to put anti-missile lasers on some of its planes

FedEx wants to outfit some of its cargo planes with anti-missile laser technology.

The FAA said in a filing on Friday that it is currently reviewing a request from FedEx to add laser technology to some aircraft. The technology is designed to disrupt a missile's heat-seeking capabilities by shining a laser outside the plane.

In the last few years, civilian aircraft have been fired upon by man-portable air defense systems. Several companies have designed and adapted laser-based missile-defense systems for installation on civilian aircraft to protect them against heat-seeking missiles.

The left wing of an A330 operated by DHL was hit by a surface-to-air missile in 2003 but the crew were able to escape unharmed. A Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine, killing .

The tech will be used on the A321-200, a twin-engine, transportation jet with seating for 220 passengers. FedEx has the largest cargo air fleet with more than 650 planes, but it does not own or operate any A321-200 aircraft.
FedEx didn't reply to Insider's request for comment.

The feature is not usually seen on non-military aircraft. The FAA's current design standards are not able to accommodate this technology, and the agency has no basis to determine whether the system will perform as intended, according to the filing.
The filing said that the laser energy could pose a hazard to people on the ground and another aircraft. The risk is high because the light is invisible to the eye.

The proposal was originally submitted by FedEx in October.

Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, said that the FAA keeps a close eye on any modifications that might affect the jet's flight characteristics.
FedEx could be looking at this as a one-off experiment, purchasing an A321 and testing the technology to see if it wants to add it to more of the company's fleet. He said that the company could be planning on purchasing some A321 planes as part of a civil reserve aircraft fleet that the military could use in hostile territories.

The US government and other civilian American airlines have looked into adding their own similar countermeasures to civilian flights for nearly two decades, but high cost and low risk of domestic missile attacks eventually deterred them.

45 days will be spent hearing public comment on the approval of the laser system.