Posted on 12/22/2024 6:31:48 AM PST by airdalechief
The good news is that the pilots are safe. There were no fatalities, but it could have been a tragic accident. We have confirmed reports of a friendly fire incident occurring in the Red Sea, where an F-18 fighter jet was blasted out of the sky. American forces have been conducting airstrikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The fighter jet was accidentally shot down by a cruise missile cruiser, which is under investigation. Both pilots were able to eject from the aircraft and rescued shortly thereafter (via USNI News)
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
“Both pilots were safely recovered. Initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” reads a statement from CENTCOM.
“This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”
(Personally think a Skipper has just lost his command)
A case of “ha ha, made ya flinch”? Why were they shooting live rounds?
My job when active was exactly this. I maintained and operated missile radar. I am just gonna say, many mistakes on this one. The system is setup with redundant checks to stop this kind of nonsense. Someone’s career is over.
I don’t understand this at all. The Navy is engaged in an attack on the Houthis and then the Navy gets the idea that the Houthis have somehow got their hands on an F-18 and are attacking one of our ships, so the ship shoots down the F-18. This just seems ... unlikely.
See DEI manual quotas count for good PR.
MODE 5? NATO IFF recently changed from MODE B to MODE 5. Were they squawking MODE 5, when the ship’s interrogator was transmitting MODE B? Or vice-versa? Always know the password and countersign.
The recent graduates of the Service academies are not what they once were.
I would say that it is even odds that the Houthis used either a Russian or Chinese anti-aircraft missile to shoot down the F-18. I can no longer take the claims of our government at face value, they have been lying about everything.
How many aircraft have he Israelis lost to “friendly fire” in the last year? Is this incident due to the pervasive DEI and tranny foolishness in our militaary? Stupid games and stupid prizes and all that.
Counterpoint: Friendly fire story could be cover for fact planes were hit by enemy missile, fired by Houthis perhaps.
Sort of what I was wondering.
It’s simpl to explain: DEI means Die.
As I noted in an earlier post:
This is as unforgivable as it is incomprehensible. The CO, XO, OPs O, Weapons Officer, OOD, and possibly the MCPOC, should all be canned, Courts Martialed, busted, and flushed with BCDs. Unbelievable!
Or someone else shot it down, and we are trying to save face.
I also believe nothing the government puts out. I’m waiting to hear exactly how many F-18s the Houti’s have.
The Brits, back in 2019, did not take delivery of the MODE 5 transponder for their E-3 AWACS from Telephonics and cancelled the contract. I do not know what the issue was, but it left them without MODE 5 capability less than three months from implementation. I do not know if there were other users who did the same, with other platforms.
When aircraft fly in formation only one has an active transponder to prevent garble. I wonder if each thought that the other guy had his on, or if both were on and the destroyer had gotten garbled nearly simultaneous responses. The MODE 5 interrogation is encrypted but distinctive. If an enemy cannot give a valid reply, they could very well give a simulated garbled reply, hoping to confuse the interrogator.
I have talked to old E-3 radar operators, and they claim you can pretty much sort out players without using IFF, IFF is just a form of confirmation. They had experience in Iraq during the current shitshow and claimed they could tell the players without a scorecard to read the jersey numbers. They get a feel. But a valid IFF reply is the next best thing to divine word from the Holy Ghost.
Agree no self respect to show.
Thanks for that.
Think he was 1997 graduate of USNA
There’s never been a conflict where such things didn’t happen.
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