Re: Malaysia Airlines Plane is Missing
The military official did not actually say the military radar detected an aircraft flying across the peninsula. It was not that clear cut. What he said was that there was a possibility of the MH370 turning back and that the military radar last plotted an aircraft flying off the north west coast of Penang. As for why a scrambling was not done, an aircraft flying hundreds of km off the coast of Penang wasn't seen as hostile and I guess Malaysia was still at the stage of readiness as the U.S. before the 9/11 when jetfighters were not scrambled even when 4 jetliners went off their scheduled route.
I never said the military radar detected the entire plane's path across the peninsula specifically. That info came post analysis of radar and satellite data. But the point that there was a UFO spotted off the coast with no response is a problem for any state that wants to secure its airspace. Your guess is probably right, Malaysia's state of readiness was probably more pre-9/11 and hopefully that will change now. As for your comment about 4 jetliners that went off their scheduled route, did these 4 maintain communications or have their transponders on? I would hope so, otherwise, what you're saying is that the airspace above Malaysia is very loose.
Switching gears for a moment and actually getting back on topic for the main purpose of our forum, I think this event starkly demonstrates China's status as a second rate developing power, without sufficient capability to keep track of, not to mention protect its mundane interests. The minimum takeaway for China from this event should be to boost its satellite surveillance capabilities.
I don't think this demonstrates anything about second rate. It was a Malaysian plane in an area managed by Malaysian air traffic control on one end and Vietnamese air traffic control on the other. Why would any other country track at that level completely outside their own area? And no satellite actually tracked MH370. It is really a lucky break that whoever on that plane or whatever events that took place on that plane, did not/could not disable the engine performance telemetry which attempted to respond to a satellite system used for just that, not track a plane. What is being deduced now is really more CSI work than tracking capability.
From this event, perhaps the international aviation interests show ponder about installing radar coverage in dead spots along well traveled air corridors? My understanding is that out in the Indian Ocean, those air routes have zero coverage from any radars on the ground. ETOPS made that possible I suppose. Maybe China could lead the initiative for an international system of satellites that track planes? Or something more on the ground like radar stations or something like Sea-based X-band Radar on a mobile platform?
A positive note would be when's the last time that many countries have quickly assembled together and worked together with relatively little friction, putting aside their differences?
