airomerix
PDF THINK TANK: ANALYST
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Time and time again.
This is a classic case of 'chopping own feet' in the quest for face saving. The timing of f-16.net cry and this is interesting nonetheless. However, for those who view these matters from a purely critical and technical standpoint. Some facts remain to be analyzed. And the onus is on IAF once again. Many of these facts and technicalities have been mentioned earlier by many members here. But nonetheless, many of our Indian friends need to be educated time and time again. Just for fun for the most part.
AMRAAM is 3.6 meters in length and weighs over 150 kg on launch. The picture released does not even account for 20% by volume, and 10% by weight. The structure of the missile clearly depicts detonation. This means, the missile was in close proximity of the target when the slugs were released. Those tiny metal pieces are in fact slugs and remains of the missile's outer sheet.
View attachment 662010
The argument by our dear neighbors is based on the following narrative. And there are massive problems and contradictions with it that does not settle well, even with someone with a mediocre knowledge set when it comes to this subject.
1) AMRAAM missed the target and hit the house
Had the missile 'missed' its target. It would not have detonated. Missiles have protocols to follow, and AMRAAM is a $500,000 missile that is programmed on millions of lines of code. It will not detonate on a 'house' or target an old man, once its own radar finds itself without a target or propellant. The system shuts down and the missile falls down either like a brick or at an angle.
Either way, the missile should be found in a 'solid form' that will be either 'bent' or 'broken'. When I say broken, I refer to Mig 21's missiles that were missing tips and nozzles initially.
2) The missile hits the chaff.
This is the most civilian (read: Hollywood) concept out there. In today's era, chaff and flares are the least effective methods to counter incoming missiles. There is a reason why new systems such as MAWS, laser jamming and electronic attack pods are increasingly gaining popularity.
Having said that, deployment of chaff would only blossom a cloud of aluminum foils that would dissuade the guidance system of AMRAAM, ultimately (in best case scenario, also highly unlikely) making the AMRAAM miss the aircraft and go straight. Even in this case, the key point is that missile does not 'hit' the chaff. Since chaff is merely composed of thousands of small metal pieces that is rapidly falling down. An AMRAAM homing in at Mach 4+ will never catch a rapidly dissipating tiny metal pieces at high altitudes. The missile simply misses the aircraft, runs out of propellant, and goes to situation #1.
Lastly, the effectiveness of chaff has been highly unreliable due to factors such as its echo area (the way metal pieces separate themselves), the material used, fall rate, bloom time, and polarisation. Especially when compared with modern missiles such as AMRAAM. And mind you, C5 is a fire and forget version. Hence, this Chaff theory is laughable.
3) The missile self destructs
It was the Q4 of 2006, when Raytheon actually concluded testing of a capability called 'command destruct/self destruct) technology for AMRAAMs. That particular software update was destined for C7 versions (the most modern of that time).
Pakistan placed an order for 500 C5's around the same time. Hence it is highly unlikely, Pakistani AMRAAM versions will retain the capability that was still under testing around that time. Even if it did, CD/SD capability is controlled by the pilot or WSO. And there is no reason why Hassan Siddique would self destruct the missile himself. And there is no such thing as an auto self destruct.
4) The lack of sense/contradiction in Indian narrative
i) Indians have consistently failed to produce 4-5 AMRAAMs as they claimed. In fact, they have only produced 0.1 of the AMRAAM, for all the right reasons.
ii) Indians are saying that AMRAAMs have hit the chaff and exploded. Hence the pieces. A lofting AMRAAM detonating in the sky cannot be found in weeks. Let alone, a day.
iii) Indians claim the AMRAAM hit the house and detonated.
