If MH17 was shot down by a SAM it sounds like it was either pro-Russian rebels or one news report floated possibility it was a radar-guided SAM launched from within russia.
The Malaysian 777 was just about to cross the Russian border when all contact was lost, so this seems feasible.
Anyway RIP all the passengers & crew 🙁

One thing that must places a big cost, logistics and training burden is the sheer number of fighter types and the cost of upgrading relatively small numbers and the different weapons systems.No air force in the world has as many types.

Jaguar
MIG-29
MIG-27
Mirage 2000
SU-30
Rafael?

Have not even included the MIG-21s and MIG-23s they are phasing out!

PLAAF gives India a run for its money:
J-11 / Su 27
Su-30MKK
(J-16)
J-10A/B
J-8 Finback II (multiple variants)
JH-7
F-7 (multiple variants)
Q-5

It is possible.

This is getting more mystifying by the minute so I suppose any scenario might be considered.

I’ve been wondering about this being a shoot-down as well.

But at typical cruiding altitude >30,000ft, I don’t suppose a MANPAD has the range and also, any bad guys would need radar at night time to know where to shoot.

As MH370 was approaching Vietnamese coast, other alternative would be a Vietnamese SAM, but presumably they should not mistake a commercial passenger jet on a well-known route.

Would civilian ATC radars detect a SAM launch?

I’m thinking a shoot-down, accidental or deliberate is unlikely…

Oh dear. Very worrying and sad news. SAR operations have begun.
It’s mysterious how this incident happened. According to BBC News/CNN.com, the aircraft, a 777-200 was not particularly old at 11+ years, the captain was extremely experienced (joined MAS 1981) and the weather conditions were benign.
Also, apparently no mayday messages were sent/received.
What are the possible causes of a sudden catastrophic incident whilst cruising in good weather with no warning like this?

I wish the RN had a few “destroyer” like this 😉

Deck long enough to operate OV-10G+?

The time is ripe to resurrect the F-20 Tigershark 😉

In times of austerity, “make do and mend” makes sense.

A big raid on AMARG to resurrect the most useable F-15, F-16 airframes? How much does it cost to restore a Desert Boneyard F-16s to flying/fighting condition plus upgrades?.
Various European air forces probably have US aircraft they would like to sell(?).

There is no evidence to date Turkey was “attacking” anyone.

I hope the Turkish pilots are OK.

If, after an investigation, Turkey concludes it will react militarily, a proportionate response might be limited strikes on specific Syrian AD targets.
What are Turkey’s SEAD capabilities like? Does it have HARM or equivalent? EW aircraft?

Theoretically, as it was a Turkish aircraft shot down, could there be a NATO response?