Forum: General F-22A Raptor forum

f22spec wrote:

popcorn wrote:

Remember several years back when an engaged couple got lost in the desert out west and a F-22 was credited with locating them (at night IIRC) and radioing their position to a rescue helo?

It was never explained how the Raptor located them.. no EOTS, EODAS and only an IR MWD which should not have been a factor (unless the couple was firing missiles at the Raptor Very Happy

)..

So how did the Raptor find them out in the desert? My best guess is they had something emiting RF (like a cell phone) which was picked up by the AN/ALR-94.. but if they had a phone, then they should have simply called 911 so maybe they just couldn't get a signal.

I remember joking at the time that the helo crrew got invited to the wedding but the

F-22 driver wasn't. Very Happy

Not to take any wind out of your sails, but it if it was at night, then the pilot most likely spotted them with NVG's. The F-22 can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and it wouldn't be hard to spot people in the desert at night with NVG's.

It occurred to me but I just assumed that NVGs wouldn't be that sensitive.. but maybe that's how it played out..,just hoping on,the off,chance someone actually knew the whole,story.

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Depends on the NVG.

Were they IR or LA and did the couple have a light of some sort?

SpudmanWP wrote:

Depends on the NVG.

Were they IR or LA and did the couple have a light of some sort?

No idea, the reports were sketchy on details perhaps intentionally so in my mind to conceal some classified capability of the jet.. I just thought it improbable that a F-22 would have found them given the relatively few Raptors likely flying at the time vs. more numerous F-15s, F-16s, etc. Maybe it was just the way the dice rolled anda Raptor just stumbled upon them in the dark.. maybe.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/adventur ... -monument/ says "The search effort was greatly aided by the assistance of the military aircraft, which utilized night vision and infrared equipment to safely locate the hikers after nightfall."

Plus, Google "White Sands." Not exactly the most obscuring terrain.

Prinz_Eugn wrote:

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure/2012/01/12/military-aircraft-help-find-lost-hikers-at-white-sands-national-monument/ says "The search effort was greatly aided by the assistance of the military aircraft, which utilized night vision and infrared equipment to safely locate the hikers after nightfall."

Plus, Google "White Sands." Not exactly the most obscuring terrain.

Funny, must be a senior moment but I thought the incident happened years back and not 10 months ago.. Very Happy

thanks for the article.

Anyway, the article says they called for help using a cell phone. Wouldn't the AN/ALR-94 have the,sensitivity to detect it's signal?

Maybe the F-22 is using hearbeat sensor from mw2. Laughing