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2005-11-22 Science & Technology

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Posted by Steve 2005-11-22 10:05|| || Front Page|| [11127 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Also helps to have a French officer in NATO HQ handing over the flight plans.

Posted by Laurence of the Rats">Laurence of the Rats 2005-11-22 10:23|| 2005-11-22 10:23|| Front Page Top

#2 I dunno, I'd still call this a luck shot. Seventy eight days worth of bombing and one F-117 was brought down?

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-11-22 11:23|| 2005-11-22 11:23|| Front Page Top

#3 Now let's see if Colonel Zoltan can build an F-117.

Posted by Matt 2005-11-22 11:28|| 2005-11-22 11:28|| Front Page Top

#4 The Serbs had spies outside the Italian airbase most of the bombers operated from. When the bombers took off, the information on what aircraft they, and how many, quickly made it to Zoltan and the other battery commanders.
Hmmm...spies.
Just like the MSM whores that parked outside of the British bases when Iraq was being bombed. As soon as the B-52's started taking off they began reporting to the whole world that Bagdad was going to be bombed 9 hours later.
That was driving me crazy, they really are on the other side.
BTW I think Zoltan was the carny attraction that made Tom Hanks Big, no wonder he could splash a F-117.

Posted by JerseyMike 2005-11-22 11:37|| 2005-11-22 11:37|| Front Page Top

#5 Air Defense School at Ft. Bliss?

Moving to Ft.Sill under the new basing plan.

Posted by Grerert Shuth2004 2005-11-22 12:07|| 2005-11-22 12:07|| Front Page Top

#6 ...Everything besides the spies, spotters and the French is bullsh*t. I'd like to also know how MANY missiles he salvoed that night - it sure as hell wasn't one shot/one kill.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2005-11-22 12:11|| 2005-11-22 12:11|| Front Page Top

#7 His battery traveled over 100,000 kilometers during the 78 day NATO bombing campaign, just to avoid getting hit.

There must have been a large complement of field pieces in Zoltan's battery, or else the above numbers don't add up. Some 100,000 klicks in 78 days boils down to 769 miles per day. Even spread out over four field pieces, that's still nearly 200 miles per day. So, something's screwy with these numbers.

Regardless, even if cut in half, what the numbers show is that these guys were constantly on the run. Source guided missiles are good for that. These chaps were in constant motion just to avoid being cratered. Nailing one F-117 and a few other aircraft in exchange for an eternity of heavy lifting does not represent a strong ROI.

Â Now let's see if Colonel Zoltan can build an F-117.

Matt's statement encapsulates much of what needs to be remembered here. The ability to break things does not confer any skill at building them.

It's a lesson we need to remember about our terrorist foes and their accomplices in the media. Their focus remains on bringing down what they cannot themselves construct. Whether out of jealousy or incompetent rage, we are confronted with those who seek to deconstruct a world that has advanced well beyond their comprehension or ability to manage.

While Zoltan's fortuitous accomplishment is worthy of passing mention, the fact that the Balkans remain a complete and total hellhole is more indicative of what to expect from that quarter.

Posted by Zenster 2005-11-22 12:49|| 2005-11-22 12:49|| Front Page Top

#8 He claims to have shot down two planes. OK. And I'll buy in to the notion that his unit was among the best trained in the Serb Army. Remember, the Serb Army.

The NATO planes often travelled the same routes. He had spotters and TV tracking. OK, so he got two planes.

The better question is: how many shots did he take? It looks like nearly all his time was spent running.

Posted by Chuck Simmins">Chuck Simmins 2005-11-22 14:11|| http://blog.simmins.org]">[http://blog.simmins.org] 2005-11-22 14:11|| Front Page Top

#9 Y'all are missing the point. He nailed two more aircraft than anyone thought the Serbs could hit. He figured out how to do it and make it work. He was a leader in a country that didn't have many genuine leaders.

And the article points out that his tactics forced Allied aircraft to abort some missions. That's not as good as a kill (as far as he's concerned), but it's useful.

Green Steve is right: this guy ought to give our guys a lecture or two. Besides hearing about the tactics, they'd meet an officer who cared about his men and worked hard to be a leader. That's always helpful.

Posted by Steve White 2005-11-22 14:25|| 2005-11-22 14:25|| Front Page Top

#10 Some 100,000 klicks in 78 days boils down to 769 miles per day. Even spread out over four field pieces, that's still nearly 200 miles per day. So, something's screwy with these numbers.

Wonder if it's not total vehicle miles. Four launchers is for vehicles, plus one or two radar trucks (or maybe four), plus the trucks carrying reloads, plus the maintenance vehicles, plus the command truck, plus personnel transport . . . twenty trucks driving fifty miles a day (a typical round trip between two county seats in rural Ohio) is a thousand vehicle-miles a day.

Posted by Mike 2005-11-22 14:50|| 2005-11-22 14:50|| Front Page Top

#11 As far as I can tell by my persoanl knowledge and by this article the shots that took down the F117 were ballistic, unguided, and damn lucky to hit anything. The tactics he used make good sense given he couldn't use his missiles otherwise. The minute he turned on a radar it was essentially dead. BTW we did kill a few SA-3 radars during the campaign. I suspect the reason he didn't use them is because he didn't have them or could convinvce the crews to turn them on.

Posted by Cyber Sarge">Cyber Sarge 2005-11-22 15:03|| 2005-11-22 15:03|| Front Page Top

#12 Sounds like he was using info-tactics taken from Claire Chennault's (bamboo line?) 100 million pairs of eyes and 100 radios. Enough eyes, ears and cell=phones along the flight path take away a lotta stealth.

Posted by Shipman 2005-11-22 17:26|| 2005-11-22 17:26|| Front Page Top

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