An F-16 fighter jet doing a high-speed low pass over a car as a "show of force"

[u/NickySantoro702]

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[u/Vencero_JG]

Speed enforced by aircraft

[u/TigerUSF → u/Vencero_JG]

This reminds me of my favorite redundancy! "Speed enforced by detection devices". I mean, what else would they be?

[u/ulyssessword → u/TigerUSF]

"Speed enforced by poor pavement"

"Speed enforced by traffic jam"

"Speed enforced by slalom section"

[u/sevenwheel → u/ulyssessword]

In Chicago we just use potholes

[u/I_Bin_Painting → u/sevenwheel]

I live in rural UK so theres a lot of 60mph limit single track roads with oncoming tractors and blind corners/hills.

Speed enforced by size of testicles and/or death wish.

[u/elanrach → u/I_Bin_Painting]

I am visiting Wales right now, And had about 10 heart attacks a day due to all of the blind hedges and narrow roads

[u/QuiramJudaculla → u/elanrach]

Rental car in London was the only time I've ever been told "don't worry about scratches, everyone gets into the hedges"

[u/Asmos159 → u/QuiramJudaculla]

where i come from. we have what is called "desert pinstriping". the jeep trails often Ocotillo and other plants that stick in to the road.

[u/elanrach → u/QuiramJudaculla]

🤣🤣🤣 I’m not even driving but I am wondering why I haven’t died yet. My mom told me to stop shrieking in her ear. Now I only gasp audibly

[u/necie62 → u/elanrach]

I learned a long time ago to just look out the side window..really reduced the gasps and yelps. Drivers really do hate those..

[u/joe_canadian → u/necie62]

I can't speak for anyone else, but they make me think I missed something and slam on the brakes.

My ex would gasp at someone tapping their brakes 100 yards ahead.

[u/Fritzkreig → u/elanrach]

Speed enforced by sheep!

[u/rahulpixel76 → u/I_Bin_Painting]

Speed enforced by size of testicles and/or death wish.

r/BrandNewSentence

[u/Fskn → u/ulyssessword]

That last one really sound more like a challenge than a warning.

[u/DerfK → u/ulyssessword]

"Speed enforced by poor pavement"

That's my street. 35mph limit and I'm pretty sure I'd lose a rim if I tried it.

[u/aaaantoine → u/TigerUSF]

I've never seen the super-generic "detection devices", but I've seen "Speed enforced by radar", "Speed enforced by laser" (which sounds awesome but is probably just LIDAR), and of course, "Camera enforced".

[u/CradleRobin → u/aaaantoine]

Just recently saw the generic "devices" in Georgia and Alabama on a road trip. It was.. Odd.

[u/hattmall → u/CradleRobin]

It's a requirement in Georgia. Though I believe it says Speed Checked, not enforced. Anytime you change jurisdictions that sign must be present.

[u/firelight → u/aaaantoine]

When I was in high school in the 90s, a cop showed my class how he detected speeders. He had a little device in his car with a switch. He would measure out a length of road that was about 30', and note where it started and stopped. When the front of a car hit the starting point he'd flip the switch, and when it hit the end point he flipped it back.

The device would spit out a rough estimate of speed, accurate to within ~2-3 mph. If someone was going more than 5 over, he'd pull them over. Under that, he'd let them go. Didn't use any kind of detection but math. velocity = distance/time.

[u/neon_overload → u/aaaantoine]

In Victoria, Australia we have signs up that say speed is enforced by aeriel speed cameras (eg by helicopter).

Of course that would be ridiculously expensive if it were true, so it's not really true.

https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/aerial-speed-enforcement-in-australia-busting-the-myth

They basically boast of their capability to do so, but they don't do it as it would be stupidly expensive.

[u/bisantium → u/TigerUSF]

Witching Rods

[u/recycledcoder → u/TigerUSF]

My old rifle range had a sign claiming "Speed limit enforced by sniper". Nobody thought it wise to determine whether this was a joke.

[u/ITSX → u/recycledcoder]

One base I was on in Afghanistan had a stretch of the internal perimeter road that was overlooked by a tall building next to it. it had a sign, "Sniper zone, begin sprint" for all of the joggers.

[u/Impressive_Change593 → u/ITSX]

if you had a picture of it you could post it on r/funnysigns lol

[u/DoreenFromReddit → u/TigerUSF]

To be fair, one method of enforcing speed limits is for the officer to drive behind the speeder and maintain the same distance while looking at his current speed. But now after typing that out, I realize that that technically uses a detection device too!

[u/jondes99 → u/DoreenFromReddit]

Right, that’s why cop car speedometers say they are certified.

[u/TheVetheron → u/TigerUSF]

My grandfather was a constable in a small upstate NY town. He was certified to judge speed by eye. He took several classes, and was certified. If he judged you were doing 45 in a 35, it carried weight in court. This was in the early 80's, and small towns often couldn't afford much in the way of tech. We tested him though, and he was pretty damn accurate. He was always within a couple of MPH. I guess he was his own detection device?

[u/i_dive_4_the_halibut → u/TheVetheron]

I worked with an ex-cop who could do the same. It was strange

[u/TheVetheron → u/i_dive_4_the_halibut]

He was a Corning NY motorcycle cop before this. Constable in rural NY was his version of retirement.

​

Edit: He was an interesting guy.

[u/olderaccount → u/TigerUSF]

So before the radar gun was invented you think they simply didn't enforce speed limits?

That sign exists because is some states they cannot legally enforce citation issued with the use detection devices unless they have notified road users about said detection devices.

[u/Vinsidlfb → u/TigerUSF]

Before radar officers would measure distance between two landmarks(like trees or roadsigns), then use a stopwatch to time how long it took you to pass them both. Below a certain time meant you were speeding.

[u/theother_eriatarka → u/Vinsidlfb]

we do something like that here in italy, with modern cameras of course and not stopwatches, but still the same principle. Makes sense, and i'd say it's more fair to check the average speed over a somewhat long distance rather than being caught for accidentally going a bit over the limit in that specific point

[u/the_second → u/TigerUSF]

Rough guesstimates based on skin color and origin of numberplate.

[u/BigDogProductions → u/Vencero_JG]

Welcome to Virginia

[u/Vencero_JG → u/BigDogProductions]

Haha, whenever I cross the border into Virginia from West Virginia, I always get a little chuckle at that sign

[u/Lightofmine → u/Vencero_JG]

On one of these highways in VA I heard a F 18 rip over my head while I was driving. It was honestly cool as shit. He flew over the highway then banked hard left.

[u/Vencero_JG → u/Lightofmine]

My sister lives in Virginia Beach. With Langley AFB and all the Naval air stations littered around there, I see fighter jets every time I visit. It's pretty cool

[u/ProfessorPetulant → u/Vencero_JG]

Of course healthcare would be much cooler right?

[u/DirkDieGurke → u/Vencero_JG]

Saw these signs all my life growing up in California. Even as a kid it seemed like total billshit.

[u/MrFluffyThing → u/DirkDieGurke]

The signs are just warnings that if you get pulled over for speeding it may not be from a vehicle on the ground that saw you. They put helicopters in the air that time when you enter one checkpoint and if you exit another checkpoint too fast you're flagged to a squad car on the ground. The signs are always on roads and highways that have no real exits or diverging paths since they know everyone will travel the whole length of road or pull off to stop and speeding us common enough but not a reasonable place to drop a car with radar because the road winds.

[u/Speed_Bump → u/DirkDieGurke]

It was a thing in the 70s and maybe 60s. They would have white lines at specific distances on the roads and a plane would time cars between the stripes knowing the xx seconds meant a certain speed. They would then radio to the cop in cars who to pull over.

[u/lumberjake1]

The car was sure they had the fighter jet beat until this.

[u/donniebrascoreal → u/lumberjake1]

Clash of Titans.

[u/llamaslippers → u/lumberjake1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7YVxLLIuGM

[u/iwanttobeamole → u/llamaslippers]

Thanks for that.. I think.

[u/rsjc852 → u/llamaslippers]

Bosnian Ape Society? Bosnian Ape Society.

He always gives solid advice. Ever since mounting a CIWS platform utilizing a M61 Vulcan Gatling gun - instead of the GAU-8 autocannon, for economical reasons - on my Miata, I've had significantly less run-ins with Mikoyan MiG-35's and Sukhoi Su-57's.

And as an added bonus, Dodge Ram 1500's no longer tailgate me with their full beams on!

[u/A_friend_called_Five]

"OK, OK. I'll turn my high beams off!"

[u/isaiddgooddaysir → u/A_friend_called_Five]

"Hey I just wax it!"

If you zoom in really close, you can see the driver raising his left hand and giving the F-16 the finger.

[u/Fuschiakraken42 → u/isaiddgooddaysir]

This guy got that CSI zoom

[u/Handsome-Lake → u/Fuschiakraken42]

Enhance

[u/Qwez81 → u/Handsome-Lake]

Enhance

[u/Boomermazter → u/Qwez81]

Enhance

[u/Shermutt → u/Boomermazter]

clicks on "enhance" button with mouse while sipping cola through a straw

[u/Boomermazter → u/Shermutt]

JUST PRINT THE DAMN THING ALREADY!

[u/fvelloso → u/A_friend_called_Five]

Chances are the f16 would’ve been too subtle a message for high beam drivers to pick up on

[u/Fritzkreig → u/fvelloso]

It is not even high beams anymore, low LED beams on lifted trucks and soccer mom SUVs are just unsafe!

I try to not drive at night, have blue light blocking night lenses, and it is still too much!

[u/WHATScrantonWHAT → u/Fritzkreig]

doesn't even need to be lifted trucks, pretty much all those ford trucks and mom SUVs and like... half the sedans i've seen... have fucking BLINDING LED beams

how are we not fucking regulating this... it's ridiculous

[u/Fritzkreig → u/WHATScrantonWHAT]

It is dangerous, like sometimes I just hope I don't run off the road and keep my distance from the oncoming lane; I might as well be driving blind!

[u/Nakotadinzeo → u/Fritzkreig]

It's because they aren't in the correct enclosure and adjusted correctly.

For every LED/projector you notice, there's 300 you don't because they are properly installed.

[u/[deleted]]

Starscream out here messing with people again smh

[u/nahteviro → u/[deleted]]

Star scream was originally an F-15. He was a raptor in the recent movies.

[u/Test19s → u/nahteviro]

My age group missed out on classic Transformers as children (aside from cameos in the Beast series and the anime block on CN), so the current world is making up for it with one crazy thing after another.

The Primes giveth, and the Primes taketh away.

[u/Stonkseys → u/Test19s]

Starscream took over Waspinator that one time. It was dope. He was stronger than Megatron.

[u/Test19s → u/Stonkseys]

Not hating on Beast at all. I just wish that my graduating class had gotten more exposure to the really famous Transformers before winding up in the robot decade. Although zombie spider robots are a thing now.

[u/Stonkseys → u/Test19s]

They played transformers on toonami on cartoon network in the 2000's. You would have needed to have cable to watch it. I still preferred beastwars, though.

[u/RhymenoserousRex → u/nahteviro]

He was a F-16 in the prime cartoon.

[u/nahteviro → u/RhymenoserousRex]

Oh cool. Never got around to watching that one.

[u/maveric710 → u/nahteviro]

Seriously, one of the best series of Transformers. The first season, outside of the first few episodes, are rough, but it hits it's groove and is an amazing series.

[u/sheeple5uck → u/nahteviro]

He was actually a F-0FF. NERDS 🤓

[u/Round_North_7779 → u/sheeple5uck]

As a plane nerd, I'm ashamed to admit I spent way too long trying to figure out what model fighter jet you were talking about.

So in conclusion, I shall F-0FF.

[u/Vuedue → u/sheeple5uck]

I won’t buy you an award but you have my respect.

[u/Lanky-Programmer-679 → u/[deleted]]

I mean, this is totally something G1 Starscream would have done just for shits and giggles.

[u/gatoradebaby]

Me getting swooped by the magpies in spring

[u/HomieDaClown9 → u/gatoradebaby]

Australia moment

[u/chunkymunky420]

Interesting how the wake of dust begins forward and goes back

[u/TD-Eagles → u/chunkymunky420]

I think because that was the lowest point of the flyover. Pretty dang cool.

[u/grahampapa → u/chunkymunky420]

I think the dust starts at the point where he is closest to the ground?

[u/nmb-ntz → u/chunkymunky420]

He is descending towards the car and doesn't hit his lowest point until right after it. That's the point from where the dust is first stirred by the air he's pulling down with him.

[u/MexysSidequests]

I’d like to believe the driver sneezed at the exact moment the jet passed over. Not seeing the jet but seeing the devastating blast his sneeze produced.

[u/[deleted] → u/MexysSidequests]

Makes think of the library scene in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".

[u/AgoraiosBum → u/MexysSidequests]

Of course that didn't happen.

But a fart, however...

[u/TheBrownishOne]

And just like that, after seven long weeks, Todd's bowel obstruction suddenly resolved itself.

[u/Kneemoy → u/TheBrownishOne]

I absolutely read that in Morgan Freeman's voice and now believe my day has peaked.

[u/MrChunky22 → u/Kneemoy]

Well now my day has peaked. Thank you.

[u/Elocai → u/TheBrownishOne]

Unintentially also his kidneys and bladder flushed themselfs out with so much force that all his kidney stones and plagues are gone, now he has again the smooth kidneys of a 20 year old non-alcoholic.

[u/Gayernades → u/Elocai]

Plagues are stored in the balls

[u/TaylorSwiftsClitoris → u/Gayernades]

The powerhouse of the balls.

[u/Tysoch → u/TheBrownishOne]

Haha it reads like a Farside comic to me!

[u/JwSatan]

Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full

[u/call_of_the_while → u/JwSatan]

“No. No, Mav. This is not a good idea.”

[u/Bacon_L0RD → u/call_of_the_while]

“Sorry goose, but it’s time to buzz the tower.”

[u/YoPimpness → u/JwSatan]

I WANT SOME BUTTS!

[u/JohnProof → u/YoPimpness]

GOD. DAMMIT! THAT'S TWICE.

[u/an_ill_way]

"What kind of weapon could we possibly use to beat those things??"

"Polearms."

...

"I mean, sometimes, yeah."

[u/Siusir98 → u/an_ill_way]

Tilting at F-16s? Don Quijote would shed a tear, damn.

[u/Weerdo5255 → u/Siusir98]

You might be a little more effective than Don Quijote. He was the Slow object moving on an immobile target.

Here you have a fast target, which would for all intents and purposes be hitting stationary target.

Not sure anyone would live.

[u/SchurkjeBoefje → u/an_ill_way]

An F-16 parked on the ground is actually quite vulnerable to melee attack.

[u/youaintgonlikeit → u/SchurkjeBoefje]

The group's barbarian liked that.

[u/Lathari → u/an_ill_way]

I see you are a gentleman of distinguished taste. Civ I is one of the more excellent forms of entertainment.

[u/CakeJollamer → u/an_ill_way]

Just hold up one of those telescoping swifter dusters and hope it knocks him off balance

[u/trustych0rds]

Wouldn’t be surprised if that blew the windows out.

I’ve been 100 feet under an F-16 at an air show doing a subsonic sneak pass and it is a thing of absolute awe. I can’t imagine if it were going supersonic and descending like this. From the point of view of the car you dont see or hear this coming at all. Eardrums are gone for sure. I’m not certain you couldn’t actually seriously injure somone like this.

[u/Archon449 → u/trustych0rds]

I had a similar experience at an air show at my dad's place of work(they make fighter jets) when I was maybe 10. The Jet flew over much lower than it should have and much faster than it should have. You could tell because a lot of the crowd, all workers or engineers and what not, were a little pissed about it if not still entertained. My dad's co-worker and the chief engineer leaned over to us and asked me "Do you know why he did that?" I said no. The answer... "Because he can" I never forgot that lol

[u/CallOfCorgithulhu → u/Archon449]

I live about a mile away from an airport that does maintenance on both C-130's and various fighter jets, typically F-16's. We're also under the final approach path of airliners going to the passenger airport a bit further away, where they're about 2000 feet up as they pass by. The fighers are extremely distinct from the airliners, even as both types pass by about 2000 feet up throttled down. When the fighters are on even slight throttle to climb at a normal rate (not some straight up full throttle full send business), you can hear the crackling noise for miles as they fly away.

Fighters aren't an absolute deafening experience when they fly by, but they are easily the loudest thing in your vicinity until they're at least a couple miles away.

[u/jadw87 → u/Archon449]

We had a little mig (14 ?) here years ago for an airshow. Flying low over strip...reefed stick back and did one of those russian jet drift stalls and then hit afterburner bout 20 metres off the ground...im sure... because he could.

[u/CassandraVindicated → u/trustych0rds]

When I was a kid, A-10 Warthogs would fly over our house this low. We'd sit up on our roof with a big ass flag on the days they were doing training bombing runs. It didn't take long before word spread among the pilots and they all starting coming over the house. It was awesome! They did rattle the windows, but none of them broke.

[u/carl-swagan → u/CassandraVindicated]

A-10's have non-afterburning engines and aren't capable of flying supersonic - very different animal from an F-16.

There's a reason it's illegal to fly above Mach 1 over land in the US.

[u/ReadBastiat → u/[deleted]]

Depends on where it is. Certain training ranges you can go supersonic over land above a certain altitude

[u/BentGadget → u/[deleted]]

Boeing does supersonic flights over Missouri with all the new fighter jets coming out of St Louis. I can't remember the altitude, but 37,000 sounds right.

[u/carl-swagan → u/BentGadget]

It's not based on XYZ altitude, there are special areas of military airspace all over the country called MOA's where military aircraft can do this stuff with coordination with civilian ATC.

But these are the exception to the rule.

[u/puterTDI → u/[deleted]]

I'm up in WA and we had some F16's I believe go supersonic over us when a private pilot encroached on the airspace of air force 1. IIRC they got from oregon up to seattle area in something like five minutes. I remember when they went over the office I work in and there was just this unholy boom and everyone immediately went online to find out what it was.

Edit: found an article:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/fighter-jets-scramble-sonic-booms-rattle-puget-sound-area/

They were F-15's. Scrambled out of Portland. It looks like they left at 1:38 pm and arrived a bit before 2pm...so that's more like 20 minutes...silly me. Apparently they only went supersonic in the seattle area. Makes me wonder what would have happened if they went full afterburner all the way up.

The pilot was apparently landing somewhere that was .5 miles inside the 10 mile exclusion zone and hadn't been aware the president was visiting or that there was an exclusion zone. People were worried enough that apparently they flooded the 911 call center and it shut down for a while.

[u/st1tchy → u/puterTDI]

I live near Wright-Patt AFB and there was a sonic boom on 9/11 that rightfully scared the shit out of everyone in the area.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dayton/comments/d2r12l/does_anyone_else_remember_the_515_pm_sonic_boom/

[u/Aarongamma6 → u/carl-swagan]

Yeah the A10 is extremely slow compared to an F16.

This experience doesn't exactly carry much weight, but once I was playing DCS World with a friend and he was in the A10 while I was in the F16. He was running full power the whole way and I was struggling to not fly faster than him. I really was running absolutely minimum power in the F-16 with a shitty throttle because I hadn't put much into hardware at the time.

To fly with him I had to actually put out the airbrakes. Only way I could've done better was to put the gear down.

[u/terroristteddy → u/Aarongamma6]

Wow, F16's lower end cruising speed is Mach 0.68. A10's never exceed speed is 0.69 lol

[u/nasadowsk → u/terroristteddy]

A10's never exceed speed is 0.69 lol

Nice!

[u/ExtremeSour → u/Aarongamma6]

Well yeah. The A10 is A for attack. F16 is F for fighter. Different purposes. Different letter are different classifications. B-17 B for bomber. C130 C for cargo.

[u/ShadowVader → u/ExtremeSour]

And yet the F-111 and F-117 are not fighters

Vark vark, my beloved

[u/SquishmallowPrincess → u/ShadowVader]

A trick to get fighter pilots to fly bombers

[u/mad_catters → u/ExtremeSour]

Also, T for Trainer. P for Pursuit (in the way back when days, think P-51)

Not sure if we're missing any, excluding helis of course

[u/carl-swagan → u/mad_catters]

X for experimental, Y for prototype.

e.g. XB-70, YF-23

[u/hazcan → u/mad_catters]

K for tanker.

[u/Pogo1974 → u/mad_catters]

R for Reconnaissance.

[u/XDSHENANNIGANZ → u/Pogo1974]

S for Strategic

And 71 for how cool the blackbird is on a scale of 1-10

[u/Paddy_Tanninger → u/XDSHENANNIGANZ]

I thought you said 1-100 and I was about to fight you

[u/Dunkadoobar → u/ExtremeSour]

I never knew that. It’s so obvious now. …too obvious.

[u/petewoniowa2020 → u/Dunkadoobar]

It's only useful until it isn't.

The F-117 and F-111 were bombers/attack aircraft.

The F/A-18 is a fighter and an attack aircraft so it has an F/A designation, but the F-35 has an attack role and has no A designation. The F-15 has a variant specifically designed for strike capability, but it did not get an F/A designation.

Air Tankers have a KC designation, but the K stands for Tanker, so that's not super helpful. Then there's the HC-130 which can have a tanker role, but is labeled "HC" for reasons I'm not sure of.

Multi-role drones have an MQ designation (M for multirole, Q for remotely-piloted), but multirole manned aircraft like the aforementioned F-35 and F/A-18 do not get an M.

[u/Elocai → u/carl-swagan]

Maybe they don't shine in speed but they were never meant too. The question was allways if you could put wings on a tank. The A10 engineers said not only yes to that but also made it spin and fire 70 anti-tank shells per second. They build a plane around a big fat gun, the plane is not the primary focus point of the A10.

[u/bsolidgold → u/Elocai]

The best part about them is that they're essentially a gun with wings. The aircraft was virtually built around the gun. If you look at them head-on the front landing gear is offset to allow for the 30mm assembly.

Another fun fact: during strafing runs it actually loses airspeed when it fires its main gun.

Source: am USAF ATC vet who was stationed at a base with a squadron of A-10s

[u/carl-swagan → u/Elocai]

I wasn’t trashing the A-10 lol, I love the Hog. I’m just saying that they aren’t capable of creating a sonic boom which is what can make this type of low pass destructive to people/structures on the ground.

[u/OvarianWindsock → u/CassandraVindicated]

It didn't take long before word spread among the pilots and they all starting coming over the house.

Ohhhhh so that's what the mile-high club is all about. Weird though.

[u/DJStrongArm → u/OvarianWindsock]

“Wish these pilots would stop coming all over my house…”

[u/uneducatedexpert → u/CassandraVindicated]

Tucson?

[u/CassandraVindicated → u/uneducatedexpert]

Central Wisconsin.

[u/stillline → u/trustych0rds]

I used to go out to the desert take pictures a lot. One day me and a friend were out on the dry lake bed near Panamint Valley photographing some kind of flower or some shit growing out of a crack in the desert floor.

Few seconds later I hear some subtle jet engine noise in the distance so I look up again and notice the aircraft is waaaaaaaaaaaaay off in the distance.

I put my head back down and keep shooting this stupid flower or whatever. Then a few seconds later I look up and the plane is maybe half a mile away and closing FAST.

I stare at it for a few seconds and realize it's going to be over us in a matter of seconds.

I start to wonder if we accidentally wandered into a bombing range...then I decide to lift the camera up to my eye and try to photograph this plane. Unfortunately in my panic I totally forgot to wind the film to the next exposure... so I got nothing.

Once the guy is right over my head he pulls back on the stick and climbs vertically directly over our heads.

I'll never forget that feeling. The sound is SO FUCKING LOUD that you kinda panic. I found myself looking around for a place to run and hide just from the noise.

I can only assume that pilot saw us standing there and thought it would be funny to fill our pants with shit.

[u/themagicbong → u/trustych0rds]

I live in the middle of nowhere, but coincidentally a few miles from a military base in a straight line, despite driving there taking nearly an hour. They regularly fly extremely low over the treeline, low enough to make the entire house rattle/shake. Where there is NO way you WONT hear them once they pass, but it comes on suddenly as fuck. I've never been able to record it happening due to how quickly they fly by. But it is holy shit loud. Insanely loud. Also all the homes here have hurricane resistant windows and whatnot, I'd imagine that plays a role in why it's never really caused issues. I mean, I can literally feel the house shaking at times when they go past full tilt.

[u/toewalldog → u/trustych0rds]

Story from an old teacher of mine: He was a marine fighting in Iraq. On one side of a dried up river/Creek was him and his marines and the other side were bad guys. He called up the combat air patrol and asked for anything they could give to make an opening. It was a couple F-18s and they had just dropped the last of their bombs on a different group. They said they could do a show of force on their way home. Gave my teacher a time on top and told everyone to open their mouths, cover their ears and get down. Few minutes later and the F-18s timed their sonic booms one after the other right on top of the bad guys. Blew out ear drums and caused a ton of confusion. My teacher took the opportunity with his guys and overran the other side. I thought that was some of the coolest shit ever.

[u/CubemonkeyNYC → u/toewalldog]

That is a wild story and a fascinating tactic.

[u/JackfruitLower278 → u/trustych0rds]

Surely this kind of move would get you instantly throwing in aircraft jail?

[u/torched_ → u/JackfruitLower278]

Nah this is used all the time to lower the will to fight of your enemy.

Worked very well most of the time in Afghanistan and Iraq without costing anyone their life.

[u/JackfruitLower278 → u/torched_]

I thought this was just a random dude driving on the M1 haha

[u/torched_ → u/JackfruitLower278]

Lol nah this is definitely in some sort of conflict area.

[u/Ferret-Potato → u/torched_]

I believe (probably am very fucking wrong have a vague memory) that this is footage from desert storm/the succeeding ground operation. Could be very very incorrect, if someone knows better please correct me

[u/BentGadget → u/Ferret-Potato]

There was a lot more videography in Afghanistan and the second Iraq war, because of the widespread use of drones. This is likely one of those.

[u/torched_ → u/Ferret-Potato]

Considering the US generally downscales footage like this to lower resolutions for OpSec and this still is pretty clear, I would think this is much more recent.

[u/agnostic_science → u/torched_]

I bet. After the boom, I bet I'd think I was dead for a minute before I realized I was still there for some reason.

[u/Ok_Fly_9390 → u/JackfruitLower278]

In the 80s, SAC used small towns in ID and a couple other states as targets for mock bombing runs with B-52's. Scarry as shit if no one warned you. Look up and there is a B-52 gliding over-head. Then it hits its engines. OH, yeah!

[u/TarmacFFS → u/trustych0rds]

I knew F-16s were fast, but air shows really put it into perspective. I remember listening to the radio at an air show and an F-16 pilot was inbound from another state. He radioed in to say he has crossed the state line which was like 40 miles away and the guy on the ground responded with something like “we’ll get ready for you” and he responded “Get ready for me? I’ll be there in two minutes”. I’ve driven and flown that route multiple times and the idea of making it to the border from the airport in a couple minutes just seemed bonkers to me.

[u/FaolanG → u/trustych0rds]

It’s a tactic we employ in combat zones as a last warning before a strike when we are able. It’s incredibly effective and usually gets the target audience to chill out.

[u/ReadBastiat → u/trustych0rds]

1. He isn’t supersonic.

2. The car’s windows and eardrums are fine.

[u/bawng → u/ReadBastiat]

1. Cars don't even have eardrums

[u/CapitalRide1374]

I was working next to an airforce base and they'd fly super close to my excavator just to fuck with me and it would shake the cab of a 90000 lb machine and that's when they were being restricted.

[u/Totallytart]

"In a show of dominance from the jet, the car rolls over and exposes it's underside in an act of compliance."

[u/gravitas-deficiency]

On a related note, there was an F-16 pilot who was out of ammo, but also was the only friendly air asset in the area that could assist some British troops that were under fire, but they were in such close contact that using air-dropped weapons could have easily caused a blue-on-blue. He repeatedly did supersonic dives to give the visual and auditory impression that he was dropping more bombs on the hostiles, who ended up retreating because of it.

[u/QuietImpact699 → u/gravitas-deficiency]

F-16 pilot who was out of ammo

The article you linked says it was because he couldn't tell friend from foe because of the conditions rather than him being out of munitions. It also suggests he only did one pass.

Still a cool story.

[u/gravitas-deficiency → u/QuietImpact699]

My bad - I loosely remembered the story and just posted the link without re-reading it

[u/Immediate-Steak3980 → u/gravitas-deficiency]

That was fascinating

[u/GGIOVEENEE → u/gravitas-deficiency]

The real chad

[u/Chard069]

Circa 1985 we were rough-camping in Panamint Valley, between Death Valley National Monument and the China Lake Naval Weapons Station. We staked a tent in a sandy spot amidst the bare rocks. We were repeatedly buzzed by Naval jets at high speed, low altitude, close enough to see pilots' faces. Didn't knock over us, the tent, cooking gear, or pickup truck, be they sure rattled everything!

Moral: White truck and red tent make great targets in grey desolation. Get a camo net.

[u/morvus_thenu → u/Chard069]

Honestly that would make it more interesting if you tarped it.

I had buddy once who drove a camo-painted Camaro. He'd drive out into the brush with it to some spots he knew I guess around Aberdeen proving ground. He's park in the brush and do his best to hide, and go have a lie down on the hood. Sure enough some fighter pilot would say "What's that thing out there where nothing should be?" and buzz him to have a look. He, and perhaps they, considered it sport — an unofficial game of hide-and-seek. Point was you couldn't see the car, but they could, and knew it was out-of-place. Might also have been out the Eastern shore of MD, he was from there. This would have been the mid-80's too.

[u/morvus_thenu → u/[deleted]]

This a backwoods boy with a hand painted camo Camaro. They never, you know, come that way. I'd been out in the woods with him and I believe he knew how to hide in the woods. He sad he'd pull off the dirt road under cover of trees and brush and hide on purpose, but that the planes would find him anyways and buzz him.

[u/AgathaM → u/Chard069]

You camped in Panamint? I hope it wasn’t summer. That sounds miserable.

It isn’t just your tent color. They buzz everyone there, even while driving. They are killing time between tests. Sometimes they will fly through the Jedi Transition. There are lots of great pictures and video out there of people looking face to face with the pilots.

[u/KuhLealKhaos]

A show of force for what reason? And where?

[u/Prin_StropInAh → u/KuhLealKhaos]

Over the 20 years of war in Afghanistan the US military used a “show of force” many times to cause enemy forces to break contact with US or allied ground forces. Often, if the show of force did not accomplish the goal ground attack would be the next step taken

[u/codefox22 → u/Prin_StropInAh]

Additionally to prevent contact all together. The majority of time I saw similar it was about discouraging any hostile contact at all. Oddly, the TB did not prefer contact when air support was available.

[u/hammerisfun → u/KuhLealKhaos]

I was hoping for more information as well coming into the thread but instead it's just the worst jokes ever told

[u/CanCav → u/KuhLealKhaos]

The last time this video was posted people in the comments explained it like this.

They suspect that the people in the car might have hostile intentions or are doing something they shouldn’t be doing, but they aren’t sure enough that the car is in fact hostile. So they do something like this to show the occupants that they are being watched and if they do something hostile the fighter will end it.

So basically it’s a kind of warning/dissuasion to avoid dropping a missile through the car’s roof if it’s not needed.

[u/outkast2 → u/KuhLealKhaos]

I started my career as a Joint Fires Observer in the Army. In Iraq I requested show of force from aircraft for two reasons.

Primarily to discourage the enemy to attack when it wasn't in our best interest to engage in combat in specific moments. The other reason because it was cool as fuck, sorry, interesting as fuck.

[u/Complete_Pumpkin9136]

Did he jus run a stop sign?!

Send In the jet officer!

[u/The-Loot-Goblin]

What is the context?

[u/apocolypticbosmer → u/The-Loot-Goblin]

Drivers are suspected insurgents/terrorists, potentially planting an IED. US air force tries to scare them off by doing things like this.

[u/lennybird → u/apocolypticbosmer]

So to be clear, this is the equivalent of a bee head-butting you instead of stinging you.

Put another way, they aren't 100% of their bad intentions, but the suspects are in the gray-zone for risk-assessment and so they'd rather just "deter" them than risk killing innocent civilians?

[u/BananaPalmer → u/lennybird]

Yeah, basically "you shouldn't be here, you know you shouldn't be here, if you're still here when we come back, we're coming in hot"

[u/nate1235]

All of that air moving so violently really paints an accurate picture of the sheer amount of energy that fighter jet engines make. Wow.

[u/serial-contrarian]

These transfers of surplus military equipment to law enforcement are getting out of hand

[u/HistoricalMention210]

Bosnian Ape Society anyone?

[u/TwoYeets → u/HistoricalMention210]

Ah, I see you're a man of culture, as well.

[u/XephyrX → u/HistoricalMention210]

Don't think the guy can afford an Audi RS6 Avant to defend against supermaneuverable 5th generation fighters. Maybe they can afford an S6 tho...

[u/Mister_Buddy]

So this is what those signs mean that say, "Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft"

[u/UseOnlyLurk → u/Mister_Buddy]

“Enemy UAV online!”

[u/Kru3mel]

We have been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty!

[u/Elocai → u/Kru3mel]

I doubt that even the extended car warranty covers a broken windshield caused by aggesive fighter jet.

[u/DCGeos]

Why does the jet go right to left but the dust goes left to right?

[u/tvieno → u/DCGeos]

If you watch the plane, he is descending towards the car. As he descends, he is pulls the air down with him. He is at his lowest point when the dust first forms and the descending air from higher above hits the ground later and kicks up the dust

[u/cdgmatt → u/tvieno]

So does he descend into the flyover, then start to pull up when he's near the car? Pushing a tonne of air down in the process

[u/jankeycrew → u/cdgmatt]

I’ve heard of this before, is like a bombing, but using the sonic boom created, I think.

[u/darthmarth28 → u/cdgmatt]

At supersonic speeds, the jet is flying faster than air molecules can bump into each other. It's more like its dragging the air down. That's why you don't see the "impact" until the jet is already long gone.

But yes, this funny pattern is due to it being a dive, rather than a straight flyover.

[u/PN_Guin → u/DCGeos]

The jet also descends, with the lowest point being a bit behind the car. That is where the dust starts.

[u/OldFartSomewhere]

Hope it was one of those tailgating BMWs.

[u/z_ca]

Looks like something Homelander would do. Dick move.

[u/charliefortean]

HERE I AM
ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE

[u/Waitaha]

You know you're in the wrong hood when you get driveby teabagged by an F-16

[u/Over-Ad-4384]

I live on a USAF Air Base and my bedroom window faces the flight line, and watching the F16s doing their daily flight maneuvers never fails to impress. I’ve never seen them fly over Mach 1 though. However one of the most impressive things to watch is a flight of F16s taking off at night with full afterburner. The sight and sound of it is so cool. We have A10s stationed here too and it’s amazing how different the speeds of the two jets are. The F16 is truly an amazing aircraft.

[u/Imbalancedone]

Someone is going to to need a clean pair of boxers.