| Kosovo MiG Kill
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Just then, between the HUD and the canopy bow (about right 12:30 to 1 o'clock position), I saw the leader explode! The best visual description I can think of is if you held a torch from one of those Hawaiian Luau party, and swing it through the air. The flame with a extended tail trailing the torch is exactly what I saw! Turning my attention back to the trailer, the trailer exploded into a streaking flame seconds later just as I tried to uncage the missile the third time! Never mind!
 "DXX 1, SPASH TWO MIG-29s, B/E 360/35 !!!" [Name], I'm ashamed... I was screaming like a woman! Didn't really bothered to keep an eye on the fireballs, so I didn't see any chutes. Later report confirmed both pilots ejected safely. Not that neither Boxer nor I would've felt bad if they morted. Anyway, I called for Boxer and I to reference 080 heading and short range radar. Thumbed aft to AUTOGUNS and plug in full AB and accelerated to 460 kts at 20K'. My cranium was on a swivel and breathing like I just ran a full sprint!
 "Dxx 2, blind!" Crap!!!! I looked north and it took me a few seconds to find Boxer (about 3.5nm left and stacked high). Tried to talk his eyes back to me, but Boxer called out to west in a right turn. I waited a few seconds to sanitize and turned west as well. During the turn, I immediately pulled into double beeper due to airspeed and Gs (looking back, I should've over G so the mission would've been more impressive... :-) Rolling out, I was 3 nm in trail of Boxer, so I had him shackled to the south to pick up line abreast. The fun wasn't over yet. Boxer got an AUTOGUN snap lock less than 10 nm south of us, low alt, with no ID. I told him to press for VID while I followed him 3 nm in trail. We were diving back down to the low teens and I saw ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on my radar! Boxer all of a sudden pulls up and yells "Dxx 2, unable ID!" That's BAD!!! I just about shit in my pants! I saw nothing and after a few seconds I asked Boxer if he saw ANYTHING at all. Boxer said he didn't see anything, so we just stroke it up and separate to the northwest for a while, then came back for a second look. Nobody home! Boxer thought it may have been a bad radar lock. I sure hope so! |
 The rest of the sortie was one excitement after another. While on the boom, AWACS controller started calling out every single ground traffic as possible contact crossing the border into Bosnia. For a while it sounded like a mass attack on Tuzla! By now it was night time, and Boxer (in an offset 3~5 nm trail) and I were still running around with our hair on fire! One time AWACS called out contacts very low alt moving towards Tuzla westbound. I didn't see squat on my tube, neither did Boxer. As the position of group started getting closer to Tuzla, I expected to see a burst of explosion from the airfield underneath! Boxer and I were gonna go from "heros to zeros" real soon!
 Finally I turned the GMTR setting on my trusty APG-70 to low and immediately saw the targets. Locked them up and show 80 kts ground speed! I wanted to reach through the mic and strangle the shit out of the controller! AWACS later called out MiG CAPs just 15 nm northeast of the border! Boxer and I were ready to "Pop a cap in their ass" across the border as soon as we got contact and ID! Again, nothing on the radar. We even did two iterations of grinder with a two ship of Vipers and no one got a solid radar hit. That night we committed and armed hot THREE MORE TIMES AFTER the Mig kills based on ridiculous AWACS calls! No kidding, by the time our replacement showed up (4 hours of vul time later), I was totally exhausted and drained! The flight across Adriatic was uneventful, and Boxer and I finally had a moment to think about what happened. After I landed and pulled into de-arm, I saw a freak in flight suit and wearing a reflective belt, jumping up and down. Sure enough, it was "Fxx” welcoming us back! GO to Page Four
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