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posted by martyb on Wednesday May 15 2019, @01:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the Ready!-Shoot!-Aim! dept.

What's faster than a speeding bullet? The Dutch F-16 that shot itself.

The Netherlands' Defense Safety Inspection Agency (Inspectie Veiligheid Defensie) is investigating an incident during a January military exercise in which a Dutch Air Force F-16 was damaged by live fire from a 20-millimeter cannon—its own 20-millimeter cannon. At least one round fired from the aircraft's M61A1 Vulcan Gatling gun struck the aircraft as it fired at targets on the Dutch military's Vliehors range on the island of Vlieland, according to a report from the Netherlands' NOS news service.

Two F-16s were conducting firing exercises on January 21. It appears that the damaged aircraft actually caught up with the 20mm rounds it fired as it pulled out of its firing run. At least one of them struck the side of the F-16's fuselage, and parts of a round were ingested by the aircraft's engine. The F-16's pilot managed to land the aircraft safely at Leeuwarden Air Base.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @03:43PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @03:43PM (#843864)

    The story said "shells" not bullets. I'm thinking they flew into the expended shells.
    'A bullet is only the projectile. The complete thing is called a round or a cartridge. A shell is a synonym for cartridge.'

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @04:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @04:59PM (#843888)

    'Shell' is also used to refer to a projectile that delivers a secondary payload, such as an explosive. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_%28projectile%29 [wikipedia.org]
    A quick look at the 20mm Cannon commonly used on the F-16 leaves both interpretations as possible.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M61_Vulcan [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday May 15 2019, @07:20PM (1 child)

    by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday May 15 2019, @07:20PM (#843934)

    Makes absolutely no sense. If the shells are ejected (and I wouldn't bet on it) they would slow down almost instantly and be far behind- certainly could not be moving forward.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:24AM (#844153)

      A shell is like a bullet, but it can explode. Things above .50 caliber are allowed to be shells. For .50 caliber and smaller it is banned by treaty. It is possible to have a 20 mm bullet, but it wouldn't be done.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @09:46PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @09:46PM (#843978)

    Aircraft mounted M61s are typically double-feed, ie spent casings are returned to the magazine.