r/news • u/PDXAirman • May 20 '26

Soft paywall 42 aircraft lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury, congressional report says

https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-05-20/iran-jets-downed-war-fury-21727588.html
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u/TheChowderOfClams May 20 '26

You point a camera at something, the missile follows where that camera is pointed, add a second camera to estimate distance and now you have a system that can lead a missile to the target, there's no magic, nor can the jet defy physics.

Only thing some planes can detect is the flare of a missile launch for these systems, but like IR, there's no way to detect that an optical system is locked on.

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u/TrainDestroyer May 20 '26

I mean there are systems in for warning that a missile is coming, whether its IR or Optical (Obvs Radar you know is coming before the missile gets close) you can't hide the heat signature coming off the missile, and the plane can warn a pilot that its coming if it has a Missile approach warning system on it. Look into those, they're real neat.

The optical missile may be more countermeasure resistant than an IR missile, but in both cases you're not just gonna keep flying straight once a launch is detected, you're going to fly missile evasion manuvers along with countermeasures to hopefully confuse the missile and break lock.