Offside (General Discussion)

Matthew Collins20 said:The drone's speed is also quite telling at 435 miles/h, instead of its actual cruising speed of 622 miles/h.
That’s basically the cruising speed of a commercial airliner. Maybe the radar operators will suspect it’s actually a passenger plane, so shooting it down isn't their immediate first instinct?

This is just a massive "what if" scenario...

That's true, though one could argue it makes interception much easier, which—interestingly enough—didn't happen either. It isn't as if radar services aren't going to flag a detected object.

To me, it feels like everyone is just sweeping the issue under the rug, which is itself quite revealing.

There was this one time when some guys from India accidentally launched a rocket toward Pakistan just because of a massive human error. They immediately called the Pakistanis to let them know everything had gone sideways and that a projectile was headed their way. And honestly, that’s not even a one-off. Back in the 80s, Americans nearly launched a nuclear warhead at themselves during routine maintenance on the heads. At the end of the day, soldiers are just people.

Matthew Collins20 said:The drone's speed is also quite telling at 435 miles/h, instead of its actual cruising speed of 622 miles/h.
That’s basically the cruising speed of a commercial airliner. Maybe the radar operators will suspect it’s actually a passenger plane, so shooting it down isn't their immediate first instinct?

This is just a massive "what if" scenario...

Commercial airliners don't fly at that altitude.
It's far too low for a passenger plane.

True, but a 14-meter metal drone creates such a massive radar signature that an operator might easily mistake it for a passenger jet, regardless of its altitude.
That's why I'm wondering why NATO hasn't ordered the Canadians, Romanians, or our own teams to scramble jets and go check it out...

Matthew Collins20 said:True, but a 14-meter metal drone creates such a massive radar signature that an operator might easily mistake it for a passenger jet, regardless of its altitude.
That's why I'm wondering why NATO hasn't ordered the Canadians, Romanians, or our own teams to scramble jets and go check it out...

But then again—commercial planes aren't exactly flying in from the direction of Ukraine right now; there isn't any civilian air traffic over Ukraine at the moment.

Here is what Selak had to say.
A man who undoubtedly knows exactly what he’s talking about.
It’s more or less the same point I’ve already made.

"To be perfectly clear, I don't see any fool putting a bomb in this aircraft. Let's clarify: if you strip out the reconnaissance, detection, and jamming equipment from this craft—whatever else it's carrying—you could fit an enormous amount of explosives in its place. But for some idiot to actually load an aviation bomb right now? You could, theoretically, pack it with explosives, but if they were actually in there... half of that student housing wing on that street would be gone today."

"This aircraft possesses the same features as the planes I used to fly. There is a specific type of explosive designed to destroy data if the aircraft crashes uncontrollably onto enemy territory. That charge doesn't trigger if the descent is controlled. If it falls under control, the parachutes deploy, and it drifts gently to the ground. This was an uncontrolled crash; the parachutes didn't have time to deploy—they basically shredded and detached, sending the craft slamming into the earth at high speed. It’s the exact same system found in the MiG-21 I flew."

🤣

Matthew Young35 said:That supposed bomb is just one more absurdity in an already bizarre story.

Just picture this.
Someone possessing short-range missiles capable of hitting targets at massive distances (the Russians) decides to strike a target 1,000 kilometers away.
And how exactly do they plan to pull that off?
They take a fifty-year-old reconnaissance drone, strap an aerial bomb to it, and aim it toward Chicago, praying that it runs out of fuel right over the city center.
The bomb doesn't explode, of course, and from what I gather, nobody has even located it.
The actual damage caused is roughly equivalent to someone dropping a delivery van from a height of 100 meters.

Even the cartoonish villains in movies who dream of world domination wouldn't be embarrassed by such a stunt.

Absurd.

But if that were the case, it would be a blatant declaration of war by Russia. It's pretty obvious who alone holds that kind of missile tech.

This feels more like a tactic designed to unsettle people and sow panic without leaving enough evidence to point a finger directly at them.

Of course, we don't actually know if it was the Russians—though that’s always a possibility. For all we know, it could be rogue Ukrainians attempting a False Flag operation to make sure the blame lands squarely on Russia.

The easiest way to tell would be if it turned out to be a Ukrainian aircraft that simply malfunctioned. In that scenario, you'd expect the Ukrainians to come clean and say, "Hey folks, sorry, we lost control of the craft; we'll be more careful next time."

What really matters now is figuring out why the NATO base in Spain didn't react. They didn't even give us a heads-up that something was heading our way. Even the Canadians didn't alert us, which—honestly—smells just as suspicious.

Matthew Collins20 said:

🤣

My favorite city, Rio 😕

It’s high time we started remilitarizing America. Better Contact Zubak, I bet he's got something tucked away for us.

So, look, since it’s pretty much common knowledge now that a certain bunch of politicians are basically under the thumb of Russia—whether it's through direct cash or just shared ideology—it's high time we actually dig a little deeper. We need to see where everyone else stands on this, from those green activist groups all the way down to the journalists. Honestly, I feel like you could find dirt on just about anyone if you looked hard enough 😁

A lot of this story is just straight-up weird.

This damn drone could be Russian or Ukrainian.

If it's Russian, what's the point? Just testing NATO air defense readiness. Highly unlikely; they have zero reason to do that and would risk dragging NATO into a full-blown war. If it's Ukrainian, what's the angle? A false flag operation to provoke a no-fly zone. I’d say that’s more likely.

The most probable scenario, if you ask me, is that the drone—whoever owned it—just lost control, flew until it ran out of fuel, and then crashed. We're talking about bottom-tier technology here; the stuff is junk and prone to breaking, plus who knows if the soldiers over there even know how to fly them. What's truly bizarre is that it crashed right in the middle of the capital instead of somewhere remote in the Midwest, Lake, or wherever.

Another strange thing is how it managed to fly through Romania and Canada without anyone spotting it. I refuse to buy that. I simply don't believe nobody saw it; there's a damn AWACS in the air constantly. The idea that there's zero communication between countries while an unknown object is cruising through the sky is catastrophic and unprofessional. It could have been carrying a bomb. Honestly, I blame the Canadians more than us; it spent way more time in their airspace than ours.

People are asking why there wasn't an air raid siren. So what if there was? Does anyone actually know where the shelters are? I live a few miles from there and didn't hear a thing because I was high as a kite, and even if I wasn't, I would've stayed on my couch, just like a million other people. There’s probably a shelter since these are old socialist-era buildings, but someone's likely using it as a storage unit. We're totally desensitized to any kind of danger.

It also drives me crazy seeing how catastrophically the leadership is handling this. Banožić needs to shut his mouth immediately; now he's rambling about bombs and calling for NATO involvement. I would handle this completely differently. Cordon off the whole area, feed the public some alibi story about a weather balloon, tell them stay away because of gas leaks or explosion risks—make something up. Call both the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors and tell them the exact same thing: "We know what happened, a drone came from your country, we tracked it from launch, but we're burying this story, so settle down and stop messing around." Then call NATO command and coordinate the cover-up, because right now, the smartest move is to do absolutely nothing.

The Ukrainians, the Russians, and even NATO would be shaking in their boots if Banozic actually gave them a call.🤦

Meanwhile, looking at what's happening next door

Jose Lopez2 said:Meanwhile, looking at what's happening next door

If Russia is Mordor, then these guys are straight out of Angmar. 😬

Jose Lopez2 said:Meanwhile, looking at what's happening next door

But those Berliners gave them a firm response—waving long flags and peace signs—and honestly, they really rattled the Russians and Mexicans

Pickousti starts getting twitchy if he doesn't mention America for at least two days. He was practically itching to jump in and claim that what happened to us could never happen over there, and that they’d have everything under control in five minutes flat. 🤣

Either I completely missed it, or perhaps nobody else has brought up the possibility that the drone was actually hacked? It’s entirely plausible that the Ukrainians programmed its flight path, only for the Russians to intercept the signal and override the software. A guest on Podcast Velebit mentioned that this kind of electronic hijacking is actually quite feasible.

If anyone finds themselves with some extra time on their hands, feel free to take a look. ☕

That drone doesn't even have a datalink. What kind of hacking are you even talking about, for God's sake?

I consider myself a secular person, but isn't it a bit convenient? If this was truly just a coincidence or some freak accident, wouldn't those responsible for launching the drone have reported that it veered off course or was lost in transit? 🤔

It’s certainly fertile ground for conspiracy theories. ☕

feralcanyon73 said:That drone doesn't even have a datalink. What kind of hacking are you even talking about, for God's sake?

I honestly haven't the slightest clue. I am merely passing along what I've heard. 🤷

A guest on Podcast Velebit was Zoran Grgić, a security and intelligence analyst who previously served three terms on the Intelligence Oversight Board.

This is precisely why I tuned in. If a man of his standing is simply talking nonsense, then it is hardly surprising that our national defense remains in such a state.

P.S. Feen, now here is another individual claiming that tanks are becoming relics of the past. 😬