While speculating on this ilusive Hawk… What do “we” know about the Pakistani surveillance of the air space over Abbottabad that night? What kind of radar instalation do they have in the area? And were they manned/active that night? What are the odds for detecting regular low flying helicopters in that terrain? Did the US:ians use electronic jamming of some sort? (I doubt that though, since electronic attacks on vital parts of the Pakistani AD network would be close to an act of war).

Let me here your thoughts gentlemen! And it would be especially interesting to hear what our Pakistani friends here think of all this.

Radars were inactive, not jammed: air chief

http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=5806&Cat=13&dt=5/7/2011

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has accepted the responsibility of air surveillance failure but informed the government that the entry of American helicopters into the Pakistani air space was not detected because the radars deployed on the western borders were not active on May 2. He dispelled the impression that the Pakistani radars were jammed.

TJ

as far as libyan airspace is now safely open to airliners ride, even typhoon can burn some fuel over clean libya sky to show the flag , i’ve learned that swedish are for a photo shhot contest soon over there for comercial purposes 😀

Is this coming from the same sources as your “no NATO strikes since taking over” 😀

Did you fall for this one too? 🙂

http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2011/04/news-of-day.html

TJ

for weeks rebels are firing heavy weapons in air when they enjoy a moment!

US should learn about it before taking it as a threat, losing thier cool!

Put yourself in the seat of the Pilot? Press reports suggest that it was an A-10 that was involved. That AAA could have come in close proximity to the Pilot. You are sitting writing your perspective from behind a computer screen. It has nothing to do with ‘loosing cool’. If you are targeted you respond to that threat. There was no way of knowing that the immediate threat was rebel activity.

Take a look at the images recently published in the media. Libyan pro-Gadaffi forces are now mounting AAA and other heavy calibre weapons on civilian based vehicles in the same manner as the rebels. They are doing so in an effort to confuse and prevent targeting.

Link to image. These are non-graphic. The others images available show bodies of Libyan soldiers beside their destroyed vehicles.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/2226/800xe.jpg

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7374/800xs.jpg

TJ

Some Libya video footage of Sentinel released by the MoD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_5Vr-D5uus

TJ

RAF WSO on exchange with the French Air Force.

Links to images.

http://i53.tinypic.com/2mfjb6r.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/b8l6px.jpg

TJ

Belgian F-16s in action. Destruction of Fitter and Hardened Aircraft Shelter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltV-PjvWZYA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv6xgB7Xz7M

TJ

-An RAF Tornado patrolling Libyan skies, armed with bunker-busting Storm Shadow missiles on its fuselage.

Good old media. Those are practice bomb dispensers!

http://www.cobham.com/media/33462/cob_m04_cbls_datasheet_uk_fa.pdf

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t57948.html

GR4 with Storm Shadow.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/gallery/tornadogallery.cfm?viewmedia=9

TJ