U.S. plans test of anti-missile system for airliners

The Department of Homeland Security will reportedly spend about $29 million to test anti-missile devices on three American Airlines 767s, according to USA Today. It marks the first time such technology has been tried on commercial airliners. The devices, to be mounted on the underside of the aircraft, can detect incoming missiles and can jam hem with a laser, the newspaper said. DHS has talked about such tests for quite a while, but installing the devices would cost about $500,000 to $1 million per plane, and it’s unclear who would pay for them; airlines have said they can’t afford the technology. As for the tests, which will start this spring on flights between New York and California, “Officials emphasize that no missiles will be test-fired at the planes,” the newspaper noted.