reaction time for fighter jets

[pym]

Are the 4 RAF Tornados down in the Falklands on QRA?

[Fireplace]

These are the reaction times on 9/11. No doubt there have been efforts to increase the chances of intercepting aircraft since then but the difficulty is clear.

American Airlines Flight 11 – Boston enroute to Los Angeles

FAA Notification to NEADS 0840*

Fighter Scramble Order (Otis Air National Guard Base, Falmouth, Mass. Two F-15s) 0846**

Fighters Airborne 0852

Airline Impact Time (World Trade Center 1) 0846 (estimated)***

Fighter Time/Distance from Airline Impact Location Aircraft not airborne/153 miles



United Airlines Flight 175 – Boston enroute to Los Angeles

FAA Notification to NEADS 0843

Fighter Scramble Order (Otis ANGB, Falmouth, Mass. Same 2 F-15s as Flight 11) 0846

Fighters Airborne 0852

Airline Impact Time (World Trade Center 2) 0902 (estimated)

Fighter Time/Distance from Airline Impact Location approx 8 min****/71 miles



American Flight 77 –Dulles enroute to Los Angeles

FAA Notification to NEADS 0924

Fighter Scramble Order (Langley AFB, Hampton, Va. 2 F-16s) 0924

Fighters Airborne 0930

Airline Impact Time (Pentagon) 0937(estimated)

Fighter Time/Distance from Airline Impact Location approx 12 min/105 miles



United Flight 93 – Newark to San Francisco

FAA Notification to NEADS N/A *****

Fighter Scramble Order (Langley F-16s already airborne for AA Flt 77)

Fighters Airborne (Langley F-16 CAP remains in place to protect DC)

Airline Impact Time (Pennsylvania) 1003 (estimated)

Fighter Time/Distance from Airline Impact Location approx 11 min/100 miles

(from DC F-16 CAP)

http://standdown.net/noradseptember1...essrelease.htm

[womble]

I see that sinister duck is back, or had he ever gone away.

[Joshua]

I am asking this because i dont really believe that the addition of modern fast jets to the Air Corp would make us any safer......

Barrage balloons perhaps....

[Joshua]

Joshua whistles quietly in the corner.


http://forum.irishmilitaryonline.com...ghlight=attack

[Aidan]

Oh god. Search function!

Still, can't resist.

Case in point, from the vague memory of an article I read nearly 20 years ago. The 36th TFW F-15Cs at Bitburg AFB in Germany were the QRA for aircraft crossing the IGB in the late 1980s. They had 4 aircraft in a constant readiness state, fuelled, armed, with pilots sitting in a ready room suited up. Separate hangar facilities, the lot.

They aimed for a 5 and 15 minute reaction time (from the alarm going off to wheels up), but that was difficult in and of itself, because the preflight checks and getting the INS on line took a while. The F-104 and Lightening generation were faster out of the blocks though, because they had less stuff to get started. Its why the Italians used the 104 as their QRA during Allied Force in 1999 (that and the fact that they were probably useless for anything else).

I should point out that the 36th TFW probably had 3 squadrons of aircraft at 20-22* (guess, can't remember) aircraft each. Supporting a standing QRA like that takes a huge effort.

So to answer your question, nope, it wouldn't make any difference, unless the AC had huge amounts of notice. And just how likely would it be that we'd ever be a target anyways?

*"The 36th TFW's full strength of 79 fully-operational F-15As was reached in December 1977." - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitburg_Air_Base

[Goldie fish]

There are so many "ifs" in that statement it would take too long to reply fairly.

Short answer: we haven't enough Maritime patrol aircraft to observe slow moving ships, never mind proper air surveillance radar to spot fast moving COMMERCIAL aircraft..

Lets equip ourselves for the Actual risks first, instead of hypothetical ones.

[Duffer]

Hypothetical Question.

Even if the Air Corp had modern fast jets F15 F16 Mirage Grippen etc on QRA at Baldonnell or Shannon and modern radar systems and a undentified jet airliner was picked up on radar over the Irish sea heading for Dublin, what time would be needed to intercept identify and shoot down if necessary such a threat. Would the best pilots in the world have enough time to scramble. i am asking this because the distance from UK to Ireland by airliner is so small I doubt if any fighter aircraft could sucessfully intercept in this situtation.

I am asking this because i dont really believe that the addition of modern fast jets to the Ait Corp would make us any safer......