Dick, Listers,
Perhaps these aircraft were from the "other branch" of our military (the,
choke, Air Force?) flying F-16s armed with HARM missiles. See, for example,
this official US government news bulletin:
F-16 fires HARM missile at Iraq radar site
Released: Jun 30, 1998
WASHINGTON (AFNS) - An Air Force F-16 pilot fired a radar-seeking missile
at an Iraqi site Tuesday after the ground station locked on to aircraft
patrolling the southern no-fly zone.
The pilot, assigned to the 4404th Wing (Provisional), fired one High-Speed
Anti-Radiation Missile at 1:30 a.m. EDT. The incident occurred near Al
Basrah in southern Iraq. The coalition aircraft returned to their bases of
operation without further incident.
"This is considered an action requiring aggressive defensive measures,"
said a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
The aircraft flying in support of Operation Southern Watch were from
England, Germany and the United States. Ten of them were in the vicinity at
the time of the incident.
Southern Watch missions continue, including normal aircraft sorties
throughout the no-fly zone. Coalition forces are investigating this latest
incident and assessing battle damage.
Now, I don't recall, but was that US helicopter shot down in northern Iraq
hit with a heat seeking Sidwinder from a Navy or Air Force plane? A little
easier to forgive in northern Iraq than northern England I would think. ;-)
Bob
At 12:16 PM 11/29/99 -0500, TigerCoupe@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 11/29/99 2:15:29 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>Colin.Mills@bluewin.ch writes:
>
> > a Sidewinder air-to-ground missile
>
>Colin,
>
>Great story, except that the Sidewinder is an air-to-air missile, not
>air-to-ground (there are also ground-to-air versions, such as the "Stinger").
> It could only be used against a ground target that emitted a horrendous
>infrared signature, such as a steam locomotive, and then only with a limited
>chance of success because it uses an expanding rod warhead that relies on
>proximity to the target rather than a direct hit. And WTF is the "automatic
>protection system?" Never heard of such a thing.
>
>Not to worry. I just thought that since the engineers on this list often
>intimidate us with all their smoke and mirrors that maybe some of us old
>fighter pilots could get in a few licks, too.
>
>Regards,
>Dick Barker
Robert L. Palmer
UCSD, Dept. of AMES
619-822-1037 (o)
760-599-9927 (h)
rpalmer@ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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