F16 training intercept on holding GA aircraft

Depending on the Eagle, that radar may be 1980s+. I know my first operational tour in the F/A-18 featured a radar designed in the 1970s. It was kinda good real close, or if you were a really good radar whisperer. The Eagle legacy radar had a lot more power out than we did, which is important. But the non-AESA jets are not really playing with a full deck, per se. I happen to fly probably the best, or second/third best (perhaps after F-22 and F-35) radar in the world nowadays, and it is pretty much magic if you know how to use it. There is basically nothing I can't see. These radars have gotten very good in comparison to the 1980's "look down shoot down" PDI Narnia, which was of course, good at the time.
 
Depending on the Eagle, that radar may be 1980s+. I know my first operational tour in the F/A-18 featured a radar designed in the 1970s. It was kinda good real close, or if you were a really good radar whisperer. The Eagle legacy radar had a lot more power out than we did, which is important. But the non-AESA jets are not really playing with a full deck, per se. I happen to fly probably the best, or second/third best (perhaps after F-22 and F-35) radar in the world nowadays, and it is pretty much magic if you know how to use it. There is basically nothing I can't see. These radars have gotten very good in comparison to the 1980's "look down shoot down" PDI Narnia, which was of course, good at the time.

The first time I worked with the full AESA Mudhen guys on a plan for SEAD/AI I was disgusted with just what that radar and more importantly it’s MTI filters could do. Like F it, you guys just do the whole damn thing and I’ll be here to shoot my way in for PR if you get tagged and have to punch out.


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Depending on the Eagle, that radar may be 1980s+. I know my first operational tour in the F/A-18 featured a radar designed in the 1970s. It was kinda good real close, or if you were a really good radar whisperer. The Eagle legacy radar had a lot more power out than we did, which is important. But the non-AESA jets are not really playing with a full deck, per se. I happen to fly probably the best, or second/third best (perhaps after F-22 and F-35) radar in the world nowadays, and it is pretty much magic if you know how to use it. There is basically nothing I can't see. These radars have gotten very good in comparison to the 1980's "look down shoot down" PDI Narnia, which was of course, good at the time.

There’s still some thought out there that Speicher’s Hornet taken down on night 1 of Desert Storm might not have been a Foxbat, that it possibly could’ve been blue on blue by the Eagle CAP engaging the MiG
 
The first time I worked with the full AESA Mudhen guys on a plan for SEAD/AI I was disgusted with just what that radar and more importantly it’s MTI filters could do. Like F it, you guys just do the whole damn thing and I’ll be here to shoot my way in for PR if you get tagged and have to punch out.


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haha yeah, it is pretty amazing huh?
 
There’s still some thought out there that Speicher’s Hornet taken down on night 1 of Desert Storm might not have been a Foxbat, that it possibly could’ve been blue on blue.

I had an old boss who was there in an A-7, some miles away in a HARM CAP. Said he watched the fox bat fly right over him in full grunt, and he didn't think it could have been anything else. Granted, we didn't have the fancy datalinks and SA to other friendlies we do now. So who knows. But based on where Speicher's jet should have been, he said it was a straight line. Speicher's son was a new intel ENS on my first deployment.
 
haha yeah, it is pretty amazing huh?

What’s sick is I’m trying to get our Grey Eagles to understand that the SAR they have will do the same stuff.

They’re too interested in training to follow a guy I’m placing an IED though.


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What’s sick is I’m trying to get our Grey Eagles to understand that the SAR they have will do the same stuff.

They’re too interested in training to follow a guy I’m placing an IED though.


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This whole game of ground movers/rotators is gonna get wild when we start fielding the JASSM in the -18 soon. Hide yo mothers, hide yo sisters.....
 
This whole game of ground movers/rotators is gonna get wild when we start fielding the JASSM in the -18 soon. Hide yo mothers, hide yo sisters.....

Unfortunately the senior heads in the Army Aviation community is like those guys that wanted to spend all their time talking about Papas and Guns in your world. We got all the worst people from the 58 who stayed around and now still think that short range visual knife fight stupidity in a world full of RF threats and Beam riders…

We are literally moving billions to make Attack Aviation a rapidly mobile method of delivering precision over the horizon fires preferably deep into their support zone on HPTL stuff…. Meanwhile at every Battalion Gunnery… “Target 2000 meters your front… engage with 30mm running fire….”

And we keep failing to learn anything, like the fact two battalions worth of KA-52s have been destroyed mostly trying to do over the shoulder CAS applications. Maybe we shouldn’t do exactly what our opponent is proving doesn’t work….


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Unfortunately the senior heads in the Army Aviation community is like those guys that wanted to spend all their time talking about Papas and Guns in your world. We got all the worst people from the 58 who stayed around and now still think that short range visual knife fight stupidity in a world full of RF threats and Beam riders…

We are literally moving billions to make Attack Aviation a rapidly mobile method of delivering precision over the horizon fires preferably deep into their support zone on HPTL stuff…. Meanwhile at every Battalion Gunnery… “Target 2000 meters your front… engage with 30mm running fire….”

And we keep failing to learn anything, like the fact two battalions worth of KA-52s have been destroyed mostly trying to do over the shoulder CAS applications. Maybe we shouldn’t do exactly what our opponent is proving doesn’t work….


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There’s a place for 9Ps and guns WVR……when you’ve either messed up the BVR, or you have effed up ROE handcuffing you to viz ID crap.
 
There’s a place for 9Ps and guns WVR……when you’ve either messed up the BVR, or you have effed up ROE handcuffing you to viz ID crap.

Sorry to tell you this Mike, but I don't think there are any 9Ps left in the inventory. Like not even in some creepy jungle armory on some lost US territory. They gave Strike Eagles 9X's and helmets.....that's like giving a cook an M240G, must be a surplus
 
Sorry to tell you this Mike, but I don't think there are any 9Ps left in the inventory. Like not even in some creepy jungle armory on some lost US territory. They gave Strike Eagles 9X's and helmets.....that's like giving a cook an M240G, must be a surplus

I was only mentioning 9Ps as generically referencing AIM-9s and WVR. I don’t think there’s even Ls around anymore…Ms probably seem ancient these days.

I still remember the pretty tight shot criteria for 9P employment for a valid kill. Old school!
 
I was only mentioning 9Ps as generically referencing AIM-9s and WVR. I don’t think there’s even Ls around anymore…Ms probably seem ancient these days.

I still remember the pretty tight shot criteria for 9P employment for a valid kill. Old school!

Yeah there are a few 9M's still rolling around, mostly as CATMs on red jets. Honestly, 9XB1 was the oldest we had on my most recent active deployment a few years ago. Grandpa :)
 
Yeah there are a few 9M's still rolling around, mostly as CATMs on red jets. Honestly, 9XB1 was the oldest we had on my most recent active deployment a few years ago. Grandpa :)

9P-1s and AGM-65A/B model Mavericks, with my Mk82 GP 500 pounders; Mk20 Rockeye and CBU-52/58 cluster munitions. Delivered manually when the green stuff didn’t work like it should. Hell yeah…..
 
9P-1s and AGM-65A/B model Mavericks, with my Mk82 GP 500 pounders; Mk20 Rockeye and CBU-52/58 cluster munitions. Delivered manually when the green stuff didn’t work like it should. Hell yeah…..

haha I was flying with an old AF guy the other day, and somehow I mentioned I have this friend (you) who keeps telling me to practice manual bombing. We both laughed so hard we entered a deep stall and never recovered :)

In all seriousness, I feel like I bridge some weird gap between the generation that raised me, with all their GP bombs and no GPS (the Hornet I learned to fly didn't have it), and the kids today who think they have to go back to the line if they can't get GPS sats. Or any other number of IMHO nice to haves. You'd look at me like I was retarded in the same way, but kids these days. It is amazing to see what they aren't comfortable with.
 
haha I was flying with an old AF guy the other day, and somehow I mentioned I have this friend (you) who keeps telling me to practice manual bombing. We both laughed so hard we entered a deep stall and never recovered :)

In all seriousness, I feel like I bridge some weird gap between the generation that raised me, with all their GP bombs and no GPS (the Hornet I learned to fly didn't have it), and the kids today who think they have to go back to the line if they can't get GPS sats. Or any other number of IMHO nice to haves. You'd look at me like I was retarded in the same way, but kids these days. It is amazing to see what they aren't comfortable with.

GPS. Ha! Had my 1:250, 1:100, and in the target area 1:50. 5.5 rounded to 6 miles/min…..9 in the -38…..clock to map to ground, terrain masking. And don’t hit the ground or anything attached to the ground while doing this. Oh, and do everything else required while doing this too….manage the formation, avoid/manage threats…known or pop up, figure out of the low level attack geometry will still work and re-plan it on the fly if it’s effed-up, set the weapons panel appropriately, comprehend what threat warning/GCI is broadcasting and where their contacts are in relation to you, keep comms to the absolute minimum, maintain SA on where the rest of your players are or supposed to be, keep watch for the air threats GCI doesn’t see, keep track of everyones fuel state, stay out of the Wx, and many more fun things to keep one‘s mind tasked and SA saturated….:)

what was the background of the AF guy?
 
Have you listened to the ATC tape for the Intercept of the guy that stole the Q400. Those Eagle guys would have been absolutely screwed if ATC hadn’t been giving them cues to the right needle in that haystack of SEATAC traffic.

I remember thinking the same thing when that incident happened. An known errant airliner was tooling around a major metro area for almost an hour. Even decades after 9/11 I think our CONUS air defense is weak at best.
 
I remember thinking the same thing when that incident happened. An known errant airliner was tooling around a major metro area for almost an hour. Even decades after 9/11 I think our CONUS air defense is weak at best.

There is a reason that one of the orders during 9/11 was essentially, “everybody not committing an intentional act of terror land right god damned now.”

Even in combat Air Defense is mostly procedural before it is positive control. Act a certain way, drive a certain direction/altitude… hey what’s that weird one doing… ok let’s investigate him…


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So if I fly really low in a Cub with no electrical system I can avoid Skynet right? That's what I've gathered from this thread. Maybe I'll not paint it yellow and it will be invisible.
 
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