No matter where they are in the world, fighter jet pilots often get high praise for their extraordinary manoeuvres.
Unfortunately for one US fighter pilot, his operation went horribly awry when he missed his target.
For the past few days, multiple “mystery objects” have appeared in the airspace of the United States (US). The country’s military has resorted to shooting them down to safeguard national security.
One such mission occurred recently in the airspace above Lake Huron, Michigan.
The New York Post reports that the pilot was in an F-16 jet when they fired the missile at an unknown object and missed.
They hit the target on the second shot, said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley on Tuesday (14 Feb).
Source: Barron’s
The first missile ended up falling into the lake and landed harmlessly.
Both missiles contained high-explosive warheads and infrared heat-seeking guidance systems.
Each of them is estimated to cost around S$610,000 (US$457,000).
Authorities are currently searching the area for the remains of the target, The Straits Times (ST) reports.
When asked if the miss would affect any similar decisions made in the future, Milley said:
We go to great lengths to make sure that the airspace is clear and the backdrop is clear out to the max effective range of the missile.
He added that they had tracked the target and ensured the coast was clear of any commercial civilian or recreational traffic.
Source: Military Times
“We determine what the debris field is likely to be with one of these platforms landing on the Earth’s surface or in the water,” Milley added. “So we’re very, very careful to make sure that those shots are, in fact, safe.”
The shootings of mysterious objects in US airspace first began on 4 Feb when authorities shot down what they alleged was a Chinese spy balloon near South Carolina, according to The Guardian.
China has continued to insist that the craft was collecting weather data.
Other similar objects were also shot down over the next few days.
However, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced that the more recent unidentified flying objects were not believed to be part of China’s spy balloon programme.
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Featured image adapted from Barron’s for illustration purposes only.
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