Chinese force down US spy plane

[Ruark]

HERE

 

[Delusion2001]

i'm curious right now to find out how long this story will carry over for, and what kinds of conflicts this is gonna create

any opinions?

 

[XMan]

Hmm. The plane was in internation airspace when it happened. There's a lot of room up there, and it seems kind of strange that the Chinese fighters were so close as to collide when the US plane made a maneuvering change. Modern radar is sophisticated enough to allow planes to track one another from miles away. Seems to me the only reason why the Chinese fighters would get close would be to flex their muscles and try and intimidate the crew of the P-3.

"Spy" plane is somewhat of a misnomer. The P-3 isn't invisible to radar, and it can't fly above SAM coverage like the U-2 that F. Gary Powers was flying over the USSR when he was shot down.

 

[Josh]

meh

 

[Zenmervolt]

The P-3, as Xerox said, is hardly a spy plane. The P-3 is a huge radar reflector and flys low and slow compared to proper spy planes such as the U2 and the SR-71. Considering that they were in international airspace and that the Chinese aircraft were there to intercept the P-3, I have to ask why the hell the Chinese fighters got that close to the P-3 in the first place. I keep imagining a scenario in which the first Chinese airplne buzzes the P-3 and as the P-3 takes evasive action, the other Chinese airplane mis-judges in its attempt to buzz the P-3 and collides with the P-3. If we wanted to hide the plane, we'd have been using the SR-71 (or probably something better and still classified).

Zenmervolt

 

[XMan]

Spying on somebody with a P-3 is like trying to sneak out of the house on a bulldozer without waking anybody up.

 

[Thanatopsis]

I would bet that on the ground though, it gets "inspected" by Chinese officials. They probably don't have very many sophisticated spy planes.

The whole thing could have been a ruse just to get the spy plane to land in China.

 

[Ruark]

Electronic surveillance and reconnaissance are spying whether or not you are undetectable to those being surveilled.

The incident is reported to have happened over international waters where the need for a minimal radar signiture is hardly necessary.

 

[BMdoobieW]

Yeah, I think China will take a quick looksee inside the plane before they give it back. I can't really tell whose fault it is. The truth will emerge someday.

 

[The Wildcard]

I agree that the major problem now is not who's fault it was, but the fact that a very hi-tech spy plane is in China terrority. I don't think China has anything near to the American P-3.

 

[Zenmervolt]

<<Electronic surveillance and reconnaissance are spying whether or not you are undetectable to those being surveilled.

The incident is reported to have happened over international waters where the need for a minimal radar signiture is hardly necessary.>>

True enough, however given the history of the US spy program, I find it very hard to believe that anything of great import was being done by a P-3. Considering that historical fact tells us that U2's and SR-71's were used almost exclusively, including on missions where the intelligence was gathered by side-looking radar from outside the boundaries of the country being spied upon. Basically, they are not going to use a P-3 for any important spying. The Chinese will find nothing of value.

Zenmervolt

EDIT: AFAIK, the P-3 Orion is an aging plane. The thing dates to the 1970's and is a turboprop. A P-3 is about as far away from a supersonic jet spyplane as you can get. I was always under the impression that the main use of P-3 Orions was as a radar platform for fleet protection.

 

[GreenBeret]

What SR-71's? Almost all of them were decommissioned. I think the CIA or somebody has 2-3.

 

[Zenmervolt]

<<What SR-71's? Almost all of them were decommissioned. I think the CIA or somebody has 2-3.>>

I could have sworn that a couple of SR-71 squadrons were brought back online in the mid 1990's. Did they decide to de-re-comission the SR-71's? And yes, the CIA undoubtedly still has their few Blackbird variants (different numerical designation than SR-71 though).

Zenmervolt

 

[Spiker]

Trust me the Chinese have computers that would make the stuff in the p-3 look like a palm pilot. Anyway the p-3 is an old plane, but it isn't schedualed to be put out of service for a long time becuase the technology on the inside is updated every so often. And if anything classified was onboard I'm sure it was destroyed before the plane landed.


From what I know about the SR-71 the CIA and Nasa have 3-4 of them still in use. And the Air force is probably working on a pulse-jet type supersonic spy plane that flys faster and higher then the SR-71

 

[ForeverSilky]

<< Spying on somebody with a P-3 is like trying to sneak out of the house on a bulldozer without waking anybody up. >>


Teh funney has landed!

 

[Tripleshot]

You can be sure the SR-71 is still available for service anywhere inthe world our government would want to use it. It can take of from the US and be anywhere over the globe in just hours,and with proper support,can do its job and be back in the hanger before anyone becomes suspect.

The SR-71 is truley a spectacular flying machine,and de commissioned is just what we want our enemies to think.

Call it dis-information.

The P-3 is a radar support and servailance, slow moving, low flying bird that couldn't get out of the way of its shadow.The Chinese Government has the explaining to do. The P-3 was hit by a yo-yo hot dog Chinese pilot who lost his craft do something totally iresponsible over international waters. If the Chinese government seazes our P-3,I hope stearn measures are leveled at the Chinese government.

Just my humble ex air force opinion.

 

[GreenBeret]

Zenmervolt: I beleive this was a fairly recent (1998?) event. Could you look into it? I'm writing an 8 page report on the space race right now, and can't spare the time. Thanks.


Tripleshot: Obviously, they (or something else) will be there when we need them but they are &quot;Decomissioned&quot;

 

[JellyBaby]

<< The Chinese Government has the explaining to do. >>

Yup. The Chinese fighters were obviously way too close to the slow-moving, low-manueverability Orion. China ought to reign in its hot dog pilots, if that was what caused the collision, and it probably was. In a P-3 you simply don't play chicken with armed military fighters, especially with a total of 24 people onboard. The crew would never endanger them. Add to that the fact China immediately blamed us and I think you can conclude they blew it. Nice of CNN to print all of the Chinese propanga verbatim.

 

[j@cko]

U.S should strike them..! BOMB THEM ALL... KILL THEM ALL..

 

[littleprince]

man, have you guys ever been to china?
i have some friends from there, and i can just imagine what there hearing about it right now!
there propaganda machine is even more powerful than your american one!
... i think... i just could've easily been brainwashed

 

[GroundOO]

Damn commies!! They may have a bigger army but I would bet anything we'd triumph if it came to it! (The black night always triumphs!!)

 

[Peetoeng]

Why did they use P-3, while they could've spied with those satelites ala 'Patriot Games'?

SR-71 may well be formally decommissioned, but CIA probably has other skunk-work toys to play with that have not been revealed to public.

Tell the commies it was not P-3, it was actually an SR-71, to make 'em happy.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Heh, found it:

&quot;As of January 1st, 1997, two SR-71 air crews and planes were declared mission ready for the first time since the plane's retirement, seven years ago. In 1994, Congress appropriated funds to put two aircraft back into service, and these airplanes were taken out of storage, refurbished, and delivered to the USAF. (One was located at NASA's Dryden research facility and the other at the Skunk Works.) These two Blackbirds and their crews are now based at Edwards Air Force Base, though administratively, they are part of the 9th Recon Wing at Beale. These SR-71s are equipped with reconnaissance sensors, including the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar system that provides near real-time, all-weather, day or night imagery.&quot;

Link

Zenmervolt