Quote:
Originally Posted by masraum
Wow, really? How bad to you have to botch that to end your career? Or is it that they are just never able to advance afterwards?
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The SinkEx crews are usually hand-picked.
When I was in flight test, I shot a number of missiles off the SH-60B, including participating in a SinkEx off of Rosey Roads, But we were still in test.
The next year, after the missile was approved for the fleet, they did a SinkEx in RIMPAC that involved a lot of other assets. Generally, they shoot the crap out of the target, starting with smaller weapons and eventually sinking the thing with Harpoons and jet launched weapons, etc. Sometimes ships will close and just gun the thing. It is harder to sink a ship than you think.
A SinkEx is an expensive big deal. Just getting the target ship ready to sink is an ordeal, as it should be, to ensure the thing is environmentally safe.
So the crew of the SH-60B, the aircraft commander was a friend of mine, is next in the barrel. Remember, a whole bunch of aviation and surface officers are watching.
My buddy does his thing, gets into position, all systems go. He hits the launch button.
The missile, the first Navy helicopter missile launch in a Navy fleet exercise, falls harmlessly into the Pacific, like a Seagull turd.
He forgot to select the right launch sequence on his armament panel: The missile could talk to him and tell him it was ready, that the target was selected, but without a specific switch position, the motor wasn't going to light off.
Ouch.
He actually got out of the Navy early.