Somehow I missed this yesterday, so I thought I’d share the picture and video in case you did, too.
This is Putinist machismo taken to the edge and beyond.
Remember in “Top Gun” when the captain of the U.S. aircraft career refused to tolerate Russian fighters getting within 250 miles of his vessel? Apparently, we’ve gotten a LOT more tolerant of Russian aggression since the Cold War (or, you know, “Top Gun” was B.S.). In fact, you can’t get any more tolerant without them losing a plane and us perhaps losing a ship.
The chief of naval operations gave the captain and crew of USS Donald Cook a big “Bravo Zulu” for “their initiative and toughness in how they handled themselves during this incident.”
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I’m not sure that a SU-24 is a legitimate threat to a guided missile destroyer with Aegis. I get the impression that these Russian planes were painted with radar the whole time, which is about all you can do.
You don’t want to be a Captain who fires the first shot and takes down a Russian jet in international waters. Nobody was hurt, so it’s best to let the diplomats sort it all out.
Alternate thought: Maybe next time this happens we could release 1000 turtle doves from the US destroyer. You know, only to show our peaceful intentions. What are the odds that one or two gets sucked up in the jet’s engine?
I recommend Canada Geese for their effectiveness.
But, sadly, we can’t send up Goose to deal with the threat. He lost that loving feeling. Woh oh.
Oh, no. I hate it when he does that…
Aegis can track from about 165 kilometers. The Captain of the Donald Cook said they saw the SU-24’s coming from about 100 miles out.
U.S. forces are used to Russian pilots “hot-dogging.” Over the weekend a SU-27 barrel rolled over a RC-135. Career ending as a U.S. aviator; good times for Russian pilots.
Aegis, a.k.a. CIWS. Do sailors still say that stands for “Captain, It Won’t Shoot?”
As with many weapon systems, it had significant bugs to work out. Would you want to be flying an aircraft painted by AEGIS and hearing the missile alert tone?
I would not. Because, if I remember correctly, it fires an incredible number of rounds per minute.
As the Raizuli said in “The Wind and the Lion,” it is a weapon that fires promiscuously…
To be more precise, he said: “The Europeans have guns that fire many times promiscuously and rend the Earth. There is no honor in this…”