Israeli F-16 scores a kill... against a balloon

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by c4casey » 17 Dec 2010, 04:36

I laughed when I heard about this one. So is this the first "jet vs balloon" kill?

http://news.scotsman.com/world/39Balloo ... 6663392.jp

The Israeli airforce yesterday shot down a balloon that flew over the country's secretive Dimona nuclear reactor site.

In yesterday's incident, it was decided to down the object with a missile fired by an F-16 after it became clear it was unmanned and the reason for its presence was uncertain.


Also see: http://www.f-16.net/news_article4266.html


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by Gamera » 17 Dec 2010, 07:48

Conspiracy theory: weather balloon = alien UFO. 8D

Seriously, earlier this year (2010), in Japan, a coastal JASDF or JGSDF base had a scare when a balloon attached to a plastic bottle containing an unknown fluid, with a label in Arabic, landed within the perimeter of the base.
The local EOD and NBC warfare teams were mobilised to examine the object.
The next day, the bad guy was identified as... the JMSDF.

A JMSDF defense ship just returned from the Middle East to Japan, used the balloon to test her radars, and the balloon became AWOL.


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by Lieven » 17 Dec 2010, 15:42

That will look nice, an F-16 with a balloon kill mark. :)

Who's good at Photoshop?


Zoom on the Osirak kill marking on IDFAF F-16A block 10 #243 taken at the IDFAF Museum on April 26th, 2004. [Photo by Oren Rozen]


More at: http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F ... -markings/


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by tbarlow » 17 Dec 2010, 16:34

Now the real question is was there a wild party in the "O" Club after scoring that kill? Not that fighter pilots need a reason for a while party... :cheers:


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by yakuza » 17 Dec 2010, 17:10

bad bad F16 :devil:

Image

:lmao:


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by Loader2088 » 17 Dec 2010, 19:10

A missile? For goodness sakes why waste a missile instead of 100 20mm rounds?


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by DeepSpace » 17 Dec 2010, 21:54

Loader2088 wrote:A missile? For goodness sakes why waste a missile instead of 100 20mm rounds?


Maybe because it is not that easy to strafe an almost stationary object with a fighter jet? :roll:


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by vegasdave901 » 17 Dec 2010, 22:38

"I say we take off and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."


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by popcorn » 18 Dec 2010, 01:42

The alleged balloon in question.. no wonder the Israelis reacted the way they did..
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darth-vader-balloon.jpg
Last edited by popcorn on 18 Dec 2010, 01:43, edited 1 time in total.


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by JochemP » 18 Dec 2010, 01:42

tbarlow wrote:Now the real question is was there a wild party in the "O" Club after scoring that kill? Not that fighter pilots need a reason for a while party... :cheers:
:lmao: The guy is gonna be haunted for years with this story!


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by Loader2088 » 18 Dec 2010, 20:51

DeepSpace wrote:
Loader2088 wrote:A missile? For goodness sakes why waste a missile instead of 100 20mm rounds?


Maybe because it is not that easy to strafe an almost stationary object with a fighter jet? :roll:


I'll assume you're not serious. Even someone like me (on my incentive ride) was able to hold a constant heading and altitude and point the nose at something in the distance. If Frank Luke could do it in a SPAD, I think any self respecting Viper jock could easily gun a balloon.

Wouldn't the missile just act like a big slug anyway? Not much there to set off the warhead.


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by DeepSpace » 18 Dec 2010, 21:10

Loader2088 wrote:
DeepSpace wrote:
Loader2088 wrote:A missile? For goodness sakes why waste a missile instead of 100 20mm rounds?


Maybe because it is not that easy to strafe an almost stationary object with a fighter jet? :roll:


I'll assume you're not serious. Even someone like me (on my incentive ride) was able to hold a constant heading and altitude and point the nose at something in the distance. If Frank Luke could do it in a SPAD, I think any self respecting Viper jock could easily gun a balloon.

Wouldn't the missile just act like a big slug anyway? Not much there to set off the warhead.


1. I was serious. "something in the distance" doesn't equal an almost stationary target, that you don't even know what its content is (it might have contained an explosive)

2. I'm sure in reality it wasn't a balloon in the literal meaning of the word.


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by LinkF16SimDude » 18 Dec 2010, 22:22

So the guy swaggers into the O-club after the debrief and says (in Hebrew...) "So there I was.....", and starts the whole "fighter pilot hands" thing. :wink:
Why does "monosyllabic" have 5 syllables?


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by Loader2088 » 18 Dec 2010, 22:33

DeepSpace wrote:
Loader2088 wrote:
DeepSpace wrote:
Loader2088 wrote:A missile? For goodness sakes why waste a missile instead of 100 20mm rounds?


Maybe because it is not that easy to strafe an almost stationary object with a fighter jet? :roll:


I'll assume you're not serious. Even someone like me (on my incentive ride) was able to hold a constant heading and altitude and point the nose at something in the distance. If Frank Luke could do it in a SPAD, I think any self respecting Viper jock could easily gun a balloon.

Wouldn't the missile just act like a big slug anyway? Not much there to set off the warhead.


1. I was serious. "something in the distance" doesn't equal an almost stationary target, that you don't even know what its content is (it might have contained an explosive)

2. I'm sure in reality it wasn't a balloon in the literal meaning of the word.


I guess we'll just have to disagree. Your point about the explosive potential has a lot of merit - I don't think hitting it would be a problem. Maybe you know something about the target that isn't public.


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by r2d2 » 18 Dec 2010, 22:38

Sensitive area, sensitive times... The pilot -and his commanders- were right to fire whatever they have.

May not be an epic story to tell to his grand children but he is not an author, he is an officer.


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