The chatter is rather unemotional, I would have figured that firing a live missile at a "hostile" target would get the blood running.
All the world’s indeed a stageHostile?
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their exits and their entrances..... William S. Circa 1600
The recording of the shoot down refers to the balloon as "Hostile" @ 7:41.Hostile?
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their exits and their entrances..... William S. Circa 1600
Perhaps because money, borrowed or otherwise, is no object.Why did they use a missle? Those things are expensive. I'm pretty sure the plane has a gun. A really big badass gun.
Why did they use a missle? Those things are expensive. I'm pretty sure the plane has a gun. A really big badass gun.
I didn't think of that. You are probably correct.I think at the altitude it was flying (64,00 ft) the F22 was struggling to get to that altitude and a gun they would have to get closer to the target, they would definitely wanted to keep clear of the debris field. The F-22 was supersonic meaning hitting a stationary target at max altitude with a gun, aim, fire, then avoid the debris would have been impossible. Just my .02 cents!
If I was the pilot, I would have at least sprayed a few hundred 20mm at it, you never know, you could get lucky and hit the balloon. But considering the "window" for knocking it down in territorial waters (within 12 nautical miles of shore) I doubt he would have had a second chance to make another run at it.I didn't think of that. You are probably correct.