A crash would have been one thing, but this going to make a messy situation even more precarious. Not to be overlooked that this was a KLM codeshare from Amsterdam, so the Dutch, and therefore Europe, are going to be pretty pissed. Not good at all.
If it was something like the Buk missile then that points directly to Russian involvement with the separatists, that's a serious piece of anti-air hardware.
You can usually accept that a separatist group can buy man portable missiles off of the international weapons black market, but this is a very advanced system that needs fairly highly trained operators to not only operate it, but reload it.
That usually points to nation state involvement as the operators were either trained by Russians or were Russian advisers.
Usually you see Rebel groups using missiles like the Igla, or the Strela 2 which are cheap, plentiful and easy to use. or some of the older self propelled SAM vehicles that don't have even half of that range.
We are talking about probably a self propelled portable air defense system and that screams nation state involvement.
Now not to cloud the issue, but the Ukraine is one of many operators of the Buk system, there's a possibility that one of their systems took a walk so to speak.
But if the UN and NATO weren't involved in this before, they're about to be pulled into it t$ts first.
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If it was something like the Buk missile then that points directly to Russian involvement with the separatists, that's a serious piece of anti-air hardware.
You can usually accept that a separatist group can buy man portable missiles off of the international weapons black market, but this is a very advanced system that needs fairly highly trained operators to not only operate it, but reload it.
That usually points to nation state involvement as the operators were either trained by Russians or were Russian advisers.
Usually you see Rebel groups using missiles like the Igla, or the Strela 2 which are cheap, plentiful and easy to use. or some of the older self propelled SAM vehicles that don't have even half of that range.
We are talking about probably a self propelled portable air defense system and that screams nation state involvement.
Now not to cloud the issue, but the Ukraine is one of many operators of the Buk system, there's a possibility that one of their systems took a walk so to speak.
But if the UN and NATO weren't involved in this before, they're about to be pulled into it t$ts first.
Ukraine does have them too ... but obviously this fits Russia's MO.
Not really how those missiles work. sorry to be grim, they usually don't actually hit the aircraft and explode. They use a proximity fuse that explodes a set distance behind and aircraft and send out a wide expanding cloud of penetrative fragments, they're designed to create catastrophic damage in as wide an area as possible.
Those poor people.
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@jameswneal: @MillerMENA @Interpreter_Mag CNN commentator noted US (& NATO) have a lot of eyes on that area. Imagine sat. footage being reviewed now.
@statedeptspox: On reports of tragic Malaysian plane crash: at this time US do not have any confirmation of cause, individuals on plane or any addl details
@MillerMENA: #BREAKING: Confirmation That Advanced BUK Anti-Aircraft Missile Spotted In Eastern Ukraine http://t.co/9pxlU6kyVm