Robert Besser
17 Jan 2022, 14:08 GMT+10
MEMPHIS, Tennessee: FedEx is seeking permission to arm its cargo planes with defensive systems to thwart attacks by heat-seeking missiles.
In a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, FedEx requested permission to add laser missile-defense systems.
During a departure from Baghdad, Iraq in 2003, a surface-to-air missile struck the wing of an Airbus A330 operating for DHL. The crew returned to the airport unharmed.
Just recently, the U.S. temporarily grounded planes after a North Korean missile launch.
"In recent years, in several incidents abroad, civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air defense systems," the FAA document says. "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."
According to FAA procedures, public comments on the FedEx request will be ongoing for 45 days before a decision on the FedEx request is made.
Get a daily dose of Vancouver Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Vancouver Star.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. State Department has announced the launch of a new program to capture and analyze evidence of ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: A new poll released this week indicated that Indonesian President Joko Widodo's approval rating has hit a six-year ...
EAST JAVA, Indonesia: A tourist bus crashed into a billboard on a highway on Indonesia's main island of Java this ...
BELGRADE, Serbia: Belgrade was paralyzed this week by a series of bomb threats, including against schools, bridges, restaurants and a ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a tweet this week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos criticized President Joe Biden for the second time in ...
TEHRAN, Iran: According to social media posts, protests that began last week across Iran over a reduction in state subsidies ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks again see-sawed on Thursday while the U.S. dollar rally took a well-deserved break."The ...
SEOUL, South Korea: Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics fell two places in Forbes' rankings of the World's Largest Tech Companies ...
Detroit, Michigan: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis NV said they are reinstating the face mask mandate for employees ...
SEOUL, South Korea: As North Korea grapples with a severe COVID-19 outbreak, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia mostly sank on Thursday, following on from a rout on Wall Street overnight."There ...
LONDON, England: Israeli startup REE Automotive has announced that it will build an assembly plant for electric vehicles (EVs) in ...