The Last War? : Chapter 385

[James1978]

Just because I'm bored . . .
Y'all do know this isn't the first appearance of a Soviet mystery aircraft in the story?

[Jotun]

Just because I'm bored . . .
Y'all do know this isn't the first appearance of a Soviet mystery aircraft in the story?

Please elucidate...

[MFOM]

Just because I'm bored . . .
Y'all do know this isn't the first appearance of a Soviet mystery aircraft in the story?

Please elucidate...

Yes please help us out, this story is old enough to buy beer in the USA now so it's hard to remember episodes from way back

[Lordroel]

Just because I'm bored . . .
Y'all do know this isn't the first appearance of a Soviet mystery aircraft in the story?

Please elucidate...

Yes please help us out, this story is old enough to buy beer in the USA now so it's hard to remember episodes from way back

Also know one, members who read the first chapter when it was writing and who had yong children are now old enough to be grandparents.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Thanks for all the kind comments, gents. They are appreciated.

The PRC has its reasons for putting pressure on the USSR. Remember, their leadership tends to be better at long termism than the West and Soviet Union.

With regards to MAC and the Pacific Air Bridge, it's hard to plan for something that you don't know exists. Moreover, BARCAPs were in place to cover the known threats. IMVHO, the most immediate response will be to route the Air Bridge further south. I am not going to comment on what the Soviet aircraft was.

It’s hard to plan for, but we have planning tools that do allow us to weigh the likelihood of the threat against the consequences of said threat materializing.

In this case, it’s reasonable to look at the loss of efficiency in moving the Air Bridge south vs the risk of something like 1,000-1,200 dead from a bad day of interception. Even if we have not seen a Soviet capability yet, we should be preparing for one to emerge. Especially because we would be doing the same thing if the roles were reversed.

Of course, people screw up, or get comfortable with a routine situation - which, honestly, is a pretty textbook definition of surprise. And it’s very human nature not to go looking for trouble when everything well. Plus, we’re dealing with people who are extremely tired, and thus not firing on all cylinders. BTDT, did not get the T-shirt.

So while it is reasonable to criticize the threat assessment (and given the numbers of dead, plenty of people will), it’s a very plausible mistake to make.

[James1978]

Just because I'm bored . . .
Y'all do know this isn't the first appearance of a Soviet mystery aircraft in the story?

Please elucidate...

Yes please help us out, this story is old enough to buy beer in the USA now so it's hard to remember episodes from way back

Also know one, members who read the first chapter when it was writing and who had yong children are now old enough to be grandparents.

Head on over to Lordroel's AH board where he's re-posting old chapters with Bernard's permission. Check out Chapter 215, way back on D+11.
I went digging on Navweaps, and the original posting date was 23 February 2014. So I've been sitting on that one for over 11 years!

I know exactly what it was. I was always surprised nobody pulled on that thread to ask about it.

Y'all have fun now!