I've just stumbled upon Why don't El Al 747's stay at the gates at JFK? in the hot topics. I kind of get why El Al decided to put missile defense systems in their planes but I was wondering: How common is this? Are there other airlines who do this?
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2Obligatory: I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you. – Carl Witthoft Mar 27 '18 at 15:24
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7The day my inabillity to properly read a Wikipedia article made it to over 2k views... – André Stannek Mar 27 '18 at 16:01
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It's far from being common. The following carriers use missile defense on all or part of their fleet:
- El Al
- Israir and Arkia "can be assumed" to use the laser-type from Elbit (flightglobal.com, 2009).
While Elbit has not identified any of the carriers likely to receive the equipment, a source familiar with the agreement says "it can be assumed" that all three major Israeli airlines - El Al, Israir and Arkia - are in line to be fitted.
- FedEx uses Northrop Grumman Guardian (Wikipedia).
Missile defense systems are also reportedly installed on some VIP business jets.
Further reading:
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Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Federico Mar 27 '18 at 15:45
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If I'm not mistaken Fedex only equips a few aircraft which are used to fly into 'unsafe airspace' under their military charters. Not all aircraft are equipped. – Anilv Mar 28 '18 at 06:05