First you had the Sea Knight crash - 12 dead. Then the Royal Navy proved their complete inability to lauch 2 Sea Kings from a carrier without them crashing into each other. Another 8 people dead.
Then a GR4 had the misfortune to be mistaken for a MIG by a Patriot missile battery. Granted, of all the Coalition's combat aircraft, the Tornado looks the most MIGgy; even then the more cynical among us (i.e. me) would maybe wonder if the significant factor was that it wasn't an American aircraft they detected.
But then you have today's incident. No news yet of the crew, I hope they're OK. But. . . all this would be comical if it wasn't so tragic. In fact, it's still comical. It transcends even the Gulf War I incident when an MP demonstrated the safety-catch on his sidearm by pointing it at his head and. . . you get the picture.
Add in that guy from the 101st going postal, US and UK patrols wandering off and being ambushed and captured, an Apache being either shot down by farmers or suffering mechanical failure in the heat of battle (which is more embarrassing?), the ITN reporters and the Syrian bus hit by US fire, and I just have to ask - WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! Didn't they learn anything from 12 years ago?
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
"The jet fired a high speed anti-radiation missile which damaged the battery's radar before it could launch a missile."
Was the pilot afraid the enemy AA-battery would fire nuclear warheads at him? Isn't that a tad overkill? Or was it incompetence by the reporter and this was an anti-radar missile?
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote: Then a GR4 had the misfortune to be mistaken for a MIG by a Patriot missile battery. Granted, of all the Coalition's combat aircraft, the Tornado looks the most MIGgy; even then the more cynical among us (i.e. me) would maybe wonder if the significant factor was that it wasn't an American aircraft they detected.
I don't think the Patroits can tell the difference between a jet fighter and a rock, much less between Brittish and American jets.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Lucky the Canadians aren't fighting in Iraq, or we'd have wiped them out by now.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
GWB: "I, uh, hope we did the right thing."
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Why is this here? Its outcome cannot make me happy. Thus, I wield wide-ranging powers to squelch it, lording over my fiefdom in a tyrannical manner.