The Morning Briefing: Aviation tax, drones and lasers

"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about the aviation industry.

1.) Drones to increase 45 percent in Pentagon 30-year aviation plan. The Pentagon plans to increase its fleet of armed and long-haul surveillance drones by at least 45 percent over the next 10 years.
The U.S. military's inventory  will grow to 645 aircraft in fiscal 2022 from approximately 445 in fiscal 2013.

2.) Aviation carbon tax a deal-breaker: Jayanthi. Union environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan, India, warned on Wednesday that the European Union's carbon tax on aviation could be a 'deal-breaker' for the climate talks for a future global regime.

3.) Aviation stocks fly high on FDI hopes. Airline stocks soared high on Wednesday in an otherwise dull market, on reports that the government would soon clear a proposal allowing foreign airlines to buy stakes in Indian carriers.

4.) Laser attacks on planes are surging, warn aviation officials. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is warning of a global surge in laser attacks on planes after almost 2,000 incidents were reported in the UK last year. There were 153 incidents at Heathrow in 2011 involving lasers being shone towards aircraft.

5.) London aviation conference to look at UK aviation growth options. Minister of State for Transport, Theresa Villiers, will give the keynote address at a conference in London next week to discuss the UK’s aviation growth options in the years ahead.

Bonus: Pilots use aviation apps to get a hang of route, weather and destination

Image credit: Joshua Davis

Related:

• Boeing, Embraer sign aviation pact
• Satellite technology soon to help planes land in Seattle
• FedEx shifts to biofuel, EVs, Hybrids
• UK opens new carbon measuring center
• Aviation rivals team up for biofuels project

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com