Police on radar trap get a surprise
All Things Military
Two Queensland Police Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on the Cunningham Highway,just west of the Amberley Air force Base at Ipswich.
The officers were using hand held radar devices to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill. The officers were suddenly surprised when their radar guns began reading 500 kms per hour.
The officer attempted to reset the radar guns, but they would not reset and then turned off. Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to an RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near the location.
Back at the QLD Police Headquarters the Patrol Sergeant fired off a complaint to the RAAF Base Commander.
The reply came back in true RAAF style:
Thank you for your letter. We can now complete the file on this incident.
You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down. Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment location. Fortunately, the Senior Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position.
The pilot also suggests you cover your mouths when cursing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech.
Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the left radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.
Thank you for your concern.
Wing Commander Brown, SFO
RAAF. Amberley. Ipswich, Qld.
