I do not know how F-18 controls work but from what I understand lots of jet controls include the equivalent of a "safety" that can be used to prevent the weapon from being launched. Maybe the pilot thought he had it engaged?

The secondary thing here I've realized is that the missiles in question must not have been using active homing. If they were then the pilots of the US aircraft would have taken evasive action as soon as their radar warning receiver lit up.

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mig39 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That could explain one accidental shootdown. It cannot conceivably explain three.

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altairprime 2 hours ago | parent [-]

How easy is it in an F-15E to modify a friend to a foe in the targeting systems?

	▲	nradov 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The IFF system will trigger warning symbology on various cockpit displays but it won't prevent the pilot from employing weapons. At this point we don't know for certain whether IFF was enabled and working correctly on any of the aircraft involved.

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mvdtnz 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> I've realized is that the missiles in question must not have been using active homing.

This is covered in the article so it's weird to present it as an original thought.

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Toutouxc 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> I've realized is that the missiles in question must not have been using active homing

Sorry, but it's totally funny that your nick is literally "Sidewinder".