New planes have a feature called a pulselight, which pulses the landing light on and off. It is very easy to see from a long distance, but only if the plane is facing you. New planes also have ADS-B, which displays the location and altitude of other aircraft in the area. Now the actual idea: replace the standard rotating beacon light on planes with a very bright landing light mounted on a swivel on the tail. Use the ADS-B to identify targets and point the pulselight at them. Traffic will suddenly become nearly impossible *not to see. It's like using a signal mirror to direct sunlight at someone's face.
-- DIYMatt, Jan 29 2012

// What if there are multiple targets in the vicinity? //

That's what AWACS is for - to separate the friendlies from the hostiles, so the Air National Guard has timely (if completely wrong) targeting information.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 30 2012



random, halfbakery