Penguin
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Because. ....Really?
About a year before the shooting down of the passenger plane, USS Stark was hit by an antiship missile. What happened there? Why didn't the Stark shoot down any aircraft in response to being targeted?
1. To target Exocet, which has inertial guidance and terminal radar homing, you don't necessarily need to have the attacking aircraft paint the target with radar.
2. The pilot fired the first Exocet missile from a range of 22.5 nautical miles (41.7 km), and the second from 15.5 nautical miles (28.7 km), just about the time Stark issued a standard warning by radio. (So, they were aware of the aircraft)
3. The frigate did not detect the missiles with radar; warning was given by the lookout only moments before the missiles struck.
No weapons were fired in defense of Stark. Phalanx remained in standby mode, Mark 36 SRBOC countermeasures were not armed until seconds before the missile hit. The attacking Exocet missiles and Mirage aircraft were in a blindspot of the rear oriented STIR (Signaal tracking and illumination Radar, part of the MK92 Guided missile fire control system), and the rear oriented Oto Melara 6/62 compact naval gun, but in the clear for the WM-25 (aka MK 92 Combined Antenna System, primary search and tracking radar of the Mk 92 Guided Missile Fire Control System) and the Mk 13 Mod 4 single-arm launcher. The ship failed to maneuver to bring its Mk 75 and CIWS to bear before the first missile hit
Citing lapses in training requirements and lax procedures, the U.S. Navy's board of inquiry relieved Captain Brindel of command and recommended him for court martial along with Tactical Action Officer Lieutenant Basil E. Moncrief. Instead, Brindel and Moncrief received non-judicia punishment and letters of rteprimand. Both opted for early retirement, while XO LtCmdr Raymond Gajan Jr. was detached for cause and received a letter of admonition.
Points to HUMAN ERROR.