Gotta love the RAF! They were (are) a joy to be around.

[nightstalker]

So with my maths he got up to about 110mph seems abit right for how fast he was going on the vid

[Rodsport999]

Yeah, thats about right... I think... maths was never my strong point. Speed, however, is!

[Biggles]

That clocks in KPH not Mph.

I can tell you it IS mph!

oh yeah it's a yellow 02 blade

and I aint saying anymore on the subject!!!! LOL

[Rotorhead]

Bit of a wiff of BS around here.

There is no way thats an accurate account, IF it even happned, or the responce from the RAF is taking the **** out of the coppers.

#1) No missile would be fired automatically, such a system would never be allowed to be installed on a plane due to the risk of fratricide ("friendly" fire) or accidents, considering the EM world we live in, it would be going off every time someone warms up a microwave meal.

#2) The power of those radar guns is so low compared to an air defence radar that the Tornado's RWR gear would not pick it up until the plane was right on top of it, the range of those radar guns is appx 200m tops, and at 300mph its going to be over past and gone, in seconds, if such a fast acting auomatic system was installed, the pilot would not have time to realise what was happening before the missile came off the rail.

#3) The RWR gear in combat aircraft are programmed with the signals that can be expected to be from threats, those signals are pretty precise, and not in the same RADAR bands as speed guns, thus a signal from a RADAR gun would be rejected as noise, and not appear on the warning display

#4) The ALARM (AR) missile that the RAF uses would need to be pretty much boresighted onto the radar gun at such short range to have a chance of hitting anywhere near it, they are not super agile AIM-132 ASRAAMs

#5) Even in training, its rare to carry live missiles, usually they carry inert dummy rounds, that if capable of being fired, will just fly a balistic trajectory and not guide.

Considering all the above, the story seems like a frustrated drivers day dream.

[Biggles]

I think the reports on the net vary some say it was a dutch pilot some say nato (which could from any airforce within nato).

I think the point to the thread was more of a bit of fun and whether it be true or not doesn't really matter. It's the thought of it that puts a smile on ya face.

but on a more serious note the system must exist as the yanks are still having probs with this whole friendly fire thing.

[Rotorhead]

but on a more serious note the system must exist as the yanks are still having probs with this whole friendly fire thing.

I nearly said that

[Tim Procter]

I think the point to the thread was more of a bit of fun and whether it be true or not doesn't really matter. It's the thought of it that puts a smile on ya face.

Totally agree Biggles.

Love the story BTW and it did make me smile.

Found a little about it on the Net.

Linky here

[Rotorhead]

In the mid eighties in Germany a RAF pilot was tracked by a police radar in much the same way as described above. Unfortunately for the pilot the police realised that the pilot was too fast for the low altitude it was flying in. At the subsequent hearing the pilot was reprimanded for violating German low flying rules (remain under 250kts under a certain height (can't remember what that height was-long time since I was there)), and removed from flying duty. He did not fly an aircraft until a few years later on reposting back to UK.

That sounds very very unlikely.

The RAF are not in the habit of taking an expensive trained pilot that has a perishable skill, and grounding him for such a length of time, after years of not flying he would need to basically go through his flight training from scratch again.

If he had been in a lot of trouble, he would have been sent back to a UK based squadron almost imediatly, rather than do as you suggest - give him a multi-year non-flying job...... if he broke a safety rule or another nations rules on noise abatment, then he would get a word or two from his CO, maybe a few days to a week of being grounded, but no more or it would be detremental to his flying.

Just not going to happen.

[Rotorhead]

AFAIK (not that I've done much work on Tornado) the bloke in the back seat looks after the weapons, not the pilot? All the pilot has (apart from a fancy GMR (ground mapping radar) and TFR (terrain following radar) and of course a joystick and throttlebox) is the trigger to the pair of IKWA-Mauser 27mm guns.

The guy up front also has the ability to fire the Sidewinders or Asraams, since along with the Mausers, they are dogfight weapons, so they are the pilots domain, since you are talking of a GR-1/GR-4/whatever they are up to now, ie not an F.mk3 (only one gun vs two on the GR's), then the GIB has only control over lasing and dropping bombs, and firing AGMs.

[warboysastro]

Thanks for the info. As I said, most of my work was on other toys, not Tornado

...but ALARM, which allegedly locked onto this speed gun is still nothing to do with the pilot.

Cheers - Rob

[Jamez]

Is'nt A.l.a.r.m. ( Advanced Long (range) Anti Radiation Missile) the missile, I would say if it did happen, the weapons system would have alerted and asigned the missile to the threat then waited to be fired, automatic missle firing is just not done. Also as they use the hostile radar as guidance, jamming it might not be a good idea. Also, the H.a.r.m ( High (speed) Anti Radiation Missle ) will climb and circle if it looses its target, and will activly seek it again. (not totaly relevent but just an interesting fact i found out a long while ago)

[Rotorhead]

Also, the H.a.r.m ( High (speed) Anti Radiation Missle ) will climb and circle if it looses its target, and will activly seek it again. (not totaly relevent but just an interesting fact i found out a long while ago)

ALARM has that beat, the ALARM will actually fly straight up, then pop a parachute and then wait while it descends until the radar reactivates, then release the chute and fall, regaining aerodynamic steering as the speed builds back up.

[Rotorhead]

automatic missle firing is just not done.

Exactly why all these BSometers are going off, such a system would be a major cause of blue on blue.

[warboysastro]

...but it's still a good story to tell yer mate Dave down the pub

Nightstalker deserves to be congratulated.

Give him the clap he deserves

Cheers - Rob

[Rotorhead]

Nightstalker, here you go, have the clap