TheArtist said:
If something did happen and it were deescalated somehow what is the general run time before we get a "training exercise accident" cover story. What I'm getting at is if something happened and it was really a misunderstanding and we did get in a fight but cooler heads eventually prevailed it would be their duty to inform the public of something other than what really happened, if a fight is something that really occurred. If there were lives lost then Pentagon press corp WILL get wind of it eventually and the story would be something like a training accident, not as a conspiracy or to cover up some dubious evil plot, but to not inform the public that we got into a live fire fight with Russia, especially if it were due to a misunderstanding and it didn't escalate.
No need to needlessly panic the public, which is what would happen if they thought we had been really shooting at each other.
When a plane takes off, it files a flight plan. ATC and the pilots unit would know. But these are usually UHF VHF freq's. Now when they go into a range they have a multitude of radio option to conduct live fire ex (LFX).
On many occasions, the pilots unit wil call ATC and say the flight plan has been amended, no reason is required to be given. Since they have been handed off to the next ATC facility, they too would be out of the loop as their responsibility for the flight ends when the plane goes on mission, usually radio silence, but in the artic regions, and under a surprise combat engagement, the pilot must have broken radio silence in an unsecured channel. Same thing would happen to every ATC facility that handled the plane, the pilots unit would vouch for it and ATC doesn't conduct crash/incident investigations. That's the NTSB. So very easy to pull off its scary.
Now to cover it up is easy. Only the pilots unit would know where or if he made it to where he was going. They would report it up the chain of command, as no LTC is gonna hold a news conference on an international event, and the brass up top can say whatever they are told.
"Plane landed safely." etc. But still notify family pilot died in training accident. And the pilots unit won't even talk to them about it as it would then be classified. And if any radar facility picked it up or ATC, they would secure the radio trnx and radar and classify it, thus no one could or would discuss it. I've had it happen on stuff where nothing we saw was out of the ordinary. Very controlled system.
So what was heard wasn't supposed to be, but try getting it out to the public and see how far that goes.
You may have one of the pilots friends with integrity say something, but off he will go, and he will then be discredited.
Think how they 'lost' flight MH 370. A little different because of the civilian factor, but they pulled it off didn't they?
