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The US did it all the time in Vietnam.

• jwilber 7mo ago
  …against the viet cong, where the biggest risk was the pilot getting pierced from small arms fire (in addition to the helo going down from pilot error). Quite different from the anti-air weapons modern day Iran possesses.
  • Edman274 7mo ago
    Are you aware that hundreds of American fixed wing aircraft were lost to surface to air missiles in North Vietnam? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._aircraft_losses_to_missiles_during_the_Vietnam_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._aircraft_losses_t...
    • jwilber 7mo ago
      Ah yeah, well I didn’t know it was that high! But I’m responding to the rescue mission comment, which, since Vietnam, have overwhelmingly employed helicopters (Huey’s then, Black Hawks today). But machinery aside, the larger point is that air operations will likely go worse here than they did in Vietnam, unfortunately for both sides.
  • bigyabai 7mo ago
    Or a MiG-17 that could outrate your F-4/F-105 at every subsonic flight regime.
  • greedo 7mo ago
    You're conflating the Viet Cong with North Vietnam.
• ranger207 7mo ago
  And it did sometimes get way out of control: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_Bat_21_Bravo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_Bat_21_Bravo
  • rkagerer 7mo ago
    Thanks for sharing, that's a crazy read.
  • wahern 7mo ago
    My neighbor was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, the one mentioned in this article who came back with over 100 bullet holes in his helicopter after the rescue operation: https://historynet.com/rescue-in-death-valley-with-hhm-163-the-evil-eyes/ https://historynet.com/rescue-in-death-valley-with-hhm-163-t... That rescue wasn't to retrieve a pilot, but nearly 200 surviving soldiers being overrun. It's difficult to squeeze stories out of him, mostly because it was so long ago and ancient history to him. Just to put his timeline in perspective, after the war he befriended a captain of the White Russian Navy who had to flee after losing the Russian Revolution. Alot of White Russians ended up in San Francisco, which is where my neighbor settled down in the '60s. He was also a military escort for Nelson Rockefeller, I think during one Rockefeller's campaigns. Once a staunch Republican, needless to say he's not a fan of where the Republican Party has ended up since then. Still a gung-ho Marine, though, who keeps insisting on climbing over our 10-foot fence whenever he locks himself out of his house, which means I have to jump the fence. Were it anyone else I'd just call and pay for a locksmith myself, or badger him to finally give me copies of his keys.
• onion2k 7mo ago
  That's an example of things getting out of control.
  • i_love_retros 7mo ago
    Possibly the best example
• harambae 7mo ago
  Not sure if it was actually used, but a fun idea for pilot recovery.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiller_ROE_Rotorcycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiller_ROE_Rotorcycle
  • jasomill 7mo ago
    The Fulton recovery system[1] using a self-inflating balloon was used in production. Though if Iranian air defenses are capable of shooting down an F-15, mounting a rescue operation with a C-130 may not be the brightest idea. Anyone know the minimum speed of a B-2? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery...
    • orbital-decay 7mo ago
      >Lifted off the ground, the pig began to spin as it flew through the air at 125 miles per hour (200 km/h). It arrived on board uninjured, but in a disoriented state. When it recovered, it attacked the crew. Understandable
    • XorNot 7mo ago
      Iranian Air defense getting lucky is different to it being impenetrable. This is not a binary situation, and a lucky F-15 kill would not make it a good idea to concentrate more assets in an area where the US will now focus more resources.