Anti-Missile Defenses For Commercial Jets

The AP reports that the first anti-missile defense system has been installed for testing on a commercial jet, a FedEx cargo carrier. The system is intended to detect the launch of a shoulder-fired missile at takeoff or landing, and disable the missile with a laser beam. Sen. Barbara Baxter (D-California) is one of the supporters of the system. She and other members of Congress are hoping to equip all US commercial passenger liners with this system in 20 years, at a cost of billions of dollars. Is this good common sense or the costly future of a society hobbled by fear of terrorism?

Comments

A better foreign policy

[skeldoy]

would eliminate the need for this system.

now they like lasers

[b17bmbr]

back when Reagan offered a vision for anti-missile defense using lasers he and the program were ridiculed. now, babs (yes, she's my senator, heaven help us!!) thinks they're a good thing.

Pork from Sen. Boxer

[w.p.richardson]

Sen. Boxer supports this because it will enrich her constituents in CA. I think this is the most repugnant form of vote buying / pandering that we see in politics. This is the vulgar spectacle that politics have become - if you are under the impression that there is a difference between any politicians, think again.

Re:Spend less money on defense, and be less of a d

[t0rkm3]

Sure... acquiesce to the world's body politic and cease to become a sovereign nation. Sounds like a plan.

Perhaps, nations should keep their own house in order and worry less about what the US is up to and how they could politically extort more money out of the US.

Or the almighty UN might actually try doing something... like rectifying the Darfur situation, or addressing the fact that Hezbollah attacked Israel as a de facto representative of the Lebanese govt. Or perhaps just prosecuting, and investigating aggressively the previous Secretary General for violations of the oil for food program... Considering both his son and brother-in-law have had shady dealings therein.

None of this is likely, even as the smug people that complain about USA policy still come to the teat at supper time.

Re:Anyone know

[zimus]

Terrorists aren't dumb, but we keep acting like they are. They know they can't rush an aircraft with just a handful of boxcutters: the passengers would turn on them and tear them limb from limb.

Not if the passengers are French.