What’s Behind All This?įedEx’s FAA 2019 application may have been part of a new strategy aimed at protecting its fleet from the threat of shoulder-fired missiles.
FedEx didn’t respond to FLYING’s request for comment. The FedEx application specifically targets the Airbus A321-200, according to the FAA, although the carrier doesn’t currently operate the narrow body, twin-engine jets which have a MTOW of 89,000 kg. The purpose of such a weapons system, the document says, would be “to interrupt the missile’s tracking of the aircraft’s heat.” In 2019, FedEx applied for an FAA supplemental type certificate to install a “laser-based missile-defense system, which directs infrared laser energy toward heat-seeking missiles,” according to an FAA document released this month.
Unbelievable? FedEx apparently didn’t think so. Imagine FedEx ( NYSE:FDX) cargo aircraft armed with laser missile-defense systems.
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