Darren New wrote:

> Stefan Viljoen wrote:
>> Read a while ago that the RAF had to pay compensation to almost a hundred
>> car owners - one of their air-defense "steerable-array" radars went
>> haywire and scanned over a road - they burned out almost every vehicle's
>> ignition and fuel injection microprocessors with the radar beam!
> 
> I occasionally hear a fighter jet come overhead and then hear my garage
> door
> opening. Happens about five times a year.  I live near Mirimar (aka "Top
> Gun"), so we get fighter jets overhead pretty regularly.  Many times a day
> where I was working across the road.
 
Makes sense. As far as I know the US military is one of THE most prolific
users of the EM spectrum in the world. He's probably got his radar on or in
a specific mode - I've read that the "ground tracking" mode on the Hughes /
Westinghouse (?) "APG" sets US Navy F-18s (among others) use tend to do
this. Apparently the F-22 (or is it the F-35?) have a "burn 'em down" mode
on their radars - they are powerful enough to fry the electronics in an
enemy plane with a single sweep, instead of shooting it down with a
missile.

I remember when Victor Belenko defected with his MiG in the 80's, USAF
engineers were amazed to find that it used valves for its radar and
electronics (valveotronics), instead of transistors. After they had
finished beating themselves on the chest with their pride in American
advancement and technology, some wise soul pointed out that the MiG would
keep flying after being through the EMP of a nuclear explosion, AND its
radar would be working - while USAF F-16s and F-15s would be falling like
leaves because their digital flight controls would be melted, and their
radars would be dead.
-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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