F-16 dodges Six MISSILES without flares or Chaffs

During Operation Desert Storm, U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot Major Emmett Tullia, callsign Stroke 3, flew a combat mission against Iraqi targets while facing repeated surface-to-air missile threats.

The mission began with a large F-16 force assembled from two wings. Tullia was among the pilots from the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing based at Doha. As he approached his target, a cockpit warning indicated that a radar-guided missile had been launched against his aircraft.

Tullia manoeuvred aggressively to defeat the first missile. His F-16's defensive chaff and flare systems did not appear to affect the missile, according to the account associated with the recording. Despite that threat, he continued the mission and released two 2,000-pound bombs against an oil-refinery target.

The return leg brought another sequence of threats. Three missiles were launched at the F-16, including SA-3s, followed by a lock from an SA-6. The aircraft had lost speed and altitude while manoeuvring against the earlier missiles.

To regain escape speed, Tullia entered a dive. That put the aircraft closer to the dense anti-aircraft fire below, but the manoeuvre allowed him to survive the missile engagement. The account credits him with defeating six missile threats during the mission.

A defensive system that was not the answer

The story is often summarized as an F-16 defeating six missiles without countermeasures. The more precise account is that the pilot's chaff and flares were reported as ineffective or unavailable during the engagement, so aircraft manoeuvring became central to survival.

The engagement illustrates the changing problem faced by a combat pilot from one moment to the next. Evading a missile can consume energy; recovering that energy may require a manoeuvre that creates another threat. Tullia therefore had to trade altitude and speed while remaining capable of completing the mission and returning from the target area.

Accident Facts

Recorded line: “Stroke 3,”

Sources

the associated record — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxohsNMlM8M