It has been revealed that a U.S. F-16 fighter jet wasted one missile after failing to shoot down an unarmed unidentified aircraft in its own airspace.
On the 14th (local time), White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said in a briefing, “The first missile launched on the 12th missed the target. It was determined that the missile fell right into the lake.”
Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said that the missed missile “fell into the lake without harm.” He explained that the second missile successfully hit the target.
Earlier, the US Department of Defense announced that an Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down an ‘octagonal structure’ with an AIM-9 air-to-air missile at an altitude of about 6,000 meters above Lake Huron, Michigan on the 12th.
At the time, after the Chinese reconnaissance balloon incident, air vehicles were found all over the US mainland, and public opinion that it should be shot down was growing. The authorities publicized the fact that they had shot down these planes. However, the fact that the aircraft over the Huron, which was the last target to be shot down, was not hit was excluded from the announcement.
The AIM-9 is also called the ‘Sidewinder’ (a type of rattlesnake) because its launch resembles a wriggling snake. The price is at least 400,000 dollars (about 500 million won) per machine.
It turned out that the ‘octagonal structure’ in question, in which the US military had to launch the missile twice, did not pose a major security risk. Kirby’s Strategic Communications Coordinator said, “It could be a completely harmless balloon related to commercial and research organizations,” and said, “This hypothesis is the most likely explanation.”
AFP reported the news of the missile miss and expressed, “The moment when the fighter pilot fired the sidewinder costing nearly $500,000 with a roar was closer to ‘Oops’ than (movie) ‘Top Gun’.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.