Posted on 10/10/2015 4:39:01 PM PDT by jonatron
The one shot down violated the airspace.
Good.
“Does someone here knows what constitutes an airspace violation?
1 meter?
100 meters?
1 kilometer?
And is it time dependent as well?”
There are no allowances in an airspace violation.
There can be a degree of uncertainty, depending on the precision of radar calibration, underlying terrain, weather/atmospheric conditions etc.
Just what measures are taken by the violated nation, depends on the mental state, attitudes, etc of the command element. Standing orders and recent instructions from national authorities are part of the total picture; readiness and proficiency of the air defense forces factor in also. The international situation, and history between the violated and violating parties (past incursions etc) influence the situation too.
Time dependence is affected by these considerations. Also, proximity of the incursion point to potential targets and assets within the territory of the violated. Time needed to intercept the violator shrinks accordingly.
Forum members appear to have forgotten that Turkey is a NATO member. And it was (at least until the Islamics began adversely influencing the situation) a stable, effective, and motivated member: far superior to Greece and of greater utility in the overall Alliance.
NATO air defenses can be quite sophisticated. The weapons that engaged the Russian craft may not have been fighters. Though if Turkish fighter pilots are anything like their US counterparts, they will try to claim credit.
No they use F-16s, an aircraft far more formidable than whatever the Russians cobbled together to bomb Assad’s enemies.
“No they use F-16s, an aircraft far more formidable than whatever the Russians cobbled together to bomb Assad’s enemies.”
gtx960 is misinformed concerning F-16 capabilities.
Its combat radius is quite small, and warload minimal. It does possess exceptional maneuvering capabilities, but as more modern weapon systems develop and deploy, those are increasingly less relevant in today’s battlespace.
Anyway, the more recent Russian tactical aircraft are equal to or superior to the F-16, which went operational almost 40 years ago.
Manned interceptors are heavily favored by US air defense authorities: fighter aircraft are sent aloft to check out the bogey (air defense jargon for unidentified object). Leaders and citizens are greatly averse to responding to false alarms with lethal force: bad publicity from downing civilian airliners is tougher to ignore in the more open Western society.
In any case, fighter aircraft are almost helpless without support and direction from the rest of the air defense system. No human eye can see far enough to make a difference.
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