Two California Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding
enforcement on I-15, just north of the Marine Corps Air Station at
Miramar . One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check
speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill.
The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading
300 miles per hour. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it
would not reset and then turned off.
Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had
in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low
flying exercise near the location.
Back at the CHP Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to
the USMC Base Commander The reply came back in true USMC style:
Thank you for your letter. We can now complete the file on this incident.
You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet
had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your
hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to
it, which is why it shut down.
Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft
had also automatically locked on to your equipment location.
Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation
for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status
and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile
was launched to destroy the hostile radar position.
The pilot also suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them,
since the video systems on these jets are very high tech. Sergeant
Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to
check his left rear molar . It appears the filling is loose. Also, the
snap is broken on his holster.
Thank you for your concern. Semper Fi.
