Replies

Our Navy was in the area that night, airman's warnings were issued for the live fire exclusion area just outside of the corridor TWA800 was flying, and it has been speculated that the exercise was testing submarine VLS anti-aircraft missiles at a target drone.

Speculation, but not informed spectulation. More like paranoid speculation. As should be clear to anyone who stops and thinks about if for a moment.

Your tagline indicates Air Force. So when was the last time the Air Force conducted a live-fire exercise in a civilian air corridor as busy as those around New York? You know, put a couple of F-15s on one side, a couple of F-16s on the other and then shoot at each other through the stream of traffic. When was the last time the Air Force ever tried something like that? My guess is that your answer would be 'never'. The first reason would be obvious, it's insane to take such a risk around civilian air traffic. The second reason would be that the Air Force maintains missile ranges for just such live fire exercises, miles away from civilization and any unauthorized traffic, and tests would be conducted there. Well, the Navy operates the same way. Believe it or not, they can also recognize the insanity of firing into air traffic corridors. And at the time of the TWA800 crash the Navy also maintained a missile test range, hundreds of miles away off Puerto Rico.

Another point, which you would not be familiar with, is the fact that there is no such thing as a VLS anti-aircraft missile on a submarine. Such a weapons system on a sub would be useless. Submarines are stealthy platforms. Their best defense against aircraft is to hide and avoid. Subs are quiet, they can do that easily enough. And it's a big ocean with lots of room to hide in. An anti-aircraft missile like you theorize negates all these defenses. They would need to target an aircraft, using radar. Otherwise what would they shoot at? That gives away their position right off the bat. A missile leaving the water is an even bigger indicator of not only a sub in the area, but exactly where it is. In short, a weapons system like you described would be absolute suicide for a sub.

I don't know exactly what caused the 747 to crash. I spent enough time in the Navy to know that none of the missile theories make a lick of sense. Maybe it was a bomb, but maybe it was just what they said it was. Whatever it was, nothing seems to stop those who would blame the military for it and it really disappoints me that people would believe the military is really that evil.

Another point, which you would not be familiar with, is the fact that there is no such thing as a VLS anti-aircraft missile on a submarine.

I beg to differ:

Mk 41
The current generation of American-produced VLS is known as the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System. It is capable of carrying an extremely wide range of missiles, including the Sea Sparrow naval self defense, short range SAM, SM-2 medium range/long range SAM/SSM, VLA anti-submarine missile with Mk-46 torpedo warhead, very similar to the ASROC, and the Tomahawk cruise missile (long range strike). There are also plans to increase the number of missiles it is capable of carrying.

Oops, sorry, right link, wrong cut and paste:

United States of America
Submarine VLS
In addition to surface ships, all Virginia-class submarines and USS Providence and later Los Angeles-class submarines have had VLS systems installed. The maximum rate of fire is one missile per second. The U.S. Navy has modified three of the four oldest Ohio class Trident submarines to SSGN configuration, allowing them to carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles using vertical launching systems installed in tubes which previously held strategic ballistic missiles. Modification of the fourth sub is underway as of 2007.

“Another point, which you would not be familiar with, is the fact that there is no such thing as a VLS anti-aircraft missile on a submarine. Such a weapons system on a sub would be useless. Submarines are stealthy platforms. Their best defense against aircraft is to hide and avoid. Subs are quiet, they can do that easily enough. And it’s a big ocean with lots of room to hide in. An anti-aircraft missile like you theorize negates all these defenses. They would need to target an aircraft, using radar. Otherwise what would they shoot at? That gives away their position right off the bat. A missile leaving the water is an even bigger indicator of not only a sub in the area, but exactly where it is. In short, a weapons system like you described would be absolute suicide for a sub.”

The only VLS that our subs have are the SSBN’s, the recent SSGN 726 thru 729, as well as the SSN-719 thru 750 of the Los Angeles Class.

And like you said, they don’t fire SAM’s