Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1517379
risks for persons and property on the ground. What goes up, must always come down. For the very same reasons, the USAF delayed the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon, until the said balloon found itself over water. Other factors may also be important here - such as revealing the fighter radar's or weapons' signal signatures in combat mode when engaging an actual target. Know-how as such is valuable to the potential adversary, and provocative passes did happen in the past, aimed at making the defenders activate their defensive systems so that their strengths and weaknesses can be identified. Risk as such could be acceptable if it is tied to avoid- ance of a much greater threat. For instance, if the missile launched on December 29th, instead of just passing over an area close to the border, flew west, it could pose a threat to large cities or industrial facilities, such as defense indus- try factories, or chemical plants. A decision made to shoot down such a missile in a desirable area - over a forest for instance - could be acceptable. Hence, the event scenario that happened in late December does not create any doubt, when it comes to the actual reac- tion of the Armed Forces. The threat was being tracked, jets ANALYSIS