…was the fallen Raptor pilot.

Actually, it was the F-22 that fell. The pilot only was in it.

Threads like these always make me wonder if the same crocodile tears are spilt on some car-forum every time someone gets killed in his Golf VR6? A bicycle courier getting run over by a truck makes the eyes of the visitors of some cycling board all misty?

Let’s be serious here – the topic at hand in this forum is combat equipment, ment to destroy stuff and kill people. Yet when someone operating that equipment gets killed doing so, some anonymous dwellers of the internet suddenly get all soggy and emotional.

Let’s face it: if the captain was killed in an accident, because of an illness or anything nobody here would have noticed, let alone cared. So don’t pretend you care now.

Pathetic, really.

Did you really think that a journalist would get a briefing note with every tidbit of info he needs? Then think again.

Journalists will always make mistakes, because they’re human. I’d be really happy if the mistakes i make at work would remain limited to the anal level you discribe above.

Journos are (usually) generalists, with (hopefully a lot of) general knowledge. You’re whining from a specialists point of view.

As if that’s not obscure for the rest of the world…

Interesting that the original aircraft was called the ‘Atlantic’ – even the French ones had the English spelling on the tail, but they started calling it the ‘Atlantique’ when the Mk2 was designed, and foreign nations failed to order it…

That’s because the Br1150 Atlantic was designed to an international NATO specification. The Atlantique was named as such when it became appearant that there weren’t any foreign orders coming up.

Buying a poppy out of respect, remembrance and gratitude? Wonderful.

But is wearing a poppy a display of such remembrance, respect and gratitude, or is it posing as such?

If we can get away from de-bunking American heros….

Which hero is being debunked? The bare facts of O’Hare’s mission are impressive enough. Putting it into a semi-mythical context full of pompous superlative semi-truths does disservice to his feats, not improve them.

Or does your signature mean that the truth is somewhere halfway between lies and facts?

Such a pod already exists. It’s the SPPU-22. A podded GSh-23-2 cannon which can be depressed. Developed for strafing runs, and for rear cover for a strike package (since it can be fitted to be fired rearward).

There are two similar Russian pods, one is the SPPU-6 with a 30mm cannon and one other I can’t think of.