its worse than that. Apparently this anti-air system uses both a heat and sight picture to lock on and track. There's never any real warning to the F35 because it's not being painted with radar or lasers or nothing. If they launch flares or chaff, no problem, whichever target acquisition system gets confused it falls back to the other.

Developed and deployed effectively within a year, by the way.

[–] invalidusernamelol@hexbear.net 2 points 2 hours ago

Strapping a 2018 cell phone to your missile and adjusting the face tracking squares to look for an f35 then wiring the auto focus to the stabilizers

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 19 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

And I'm guessing the plane didn't notify the pilot they had a lock on either

[–] supafuzz@hexbear.net 18 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

yeah there is nothing coming out of the infrared tracker to warn the plane, it's basically just a camera

which also means there's no signature for the empire to lock onto and take out with SEAD weapons

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 18 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

The most interesting part is that there's no attempt at evasion and no attempt at flares either. They not only didn't know they were being targeted, they also did not know that a missile was fired at them. They failed to identify the incoming threat at all.

[–] supafuzz@hexbear.net 12 points 18 hours ago

maybe they're accepting those new planes with gym weights instead of radars because it doesn't make much difference either way

[–] NephewAlphaBravo@hexbear.net 12 points 21 hours ago

spending eleventy trillion to research this crank theory that the empire is bound by the same laws of physics as everyone else