minutes. they can acquire a target at about 20 miles. what they seuss a ground-based radar that acquires a target. you lock on to it on the ground and then that radar sends information to the missile as it s flying through the air to continue to track the target and kill the seeker head picks up on the target on its own and then hits the aircraft. can it pick up a secondary flight? is that what occurred right here? does that happen through that radar? just from my own experience, and i did carry a missile that was a much smaller version, a semi active missile on board an f-18, i think it s unlikely that it was basically pick up another target mid flight. i think it s more likely that unsophisticated user or an undisciplined user would actually lock on to an aircraft that was an airliner without really going through any sort of rules of engagement, which we use to make sure you are locked on to the correct target. and something that actually is a foe. when you were flying f-18s,
you rehearsed a missile attack. so you have warning systems that tell you i ve been locked on by a missile, right, and you take evasive maneuvers. the pilot of this plane had no idea that anything was coming up. absolutely. they probably never even saw it coming. probably never knew what hit them essentially. in an f-18, we have centers inside the cockpit that let us know when a radar has locked on to us, when a radar is looking at us. we ll use maneuvers to defeat that radar locked and ultimately the last ditch is when you actually see the missile coming at you. these are you havely the size of a telephone pole and you may or may not. you may see the contrails. and you try to defeat it through energy. here is the most fundamental question. when you look up with all your experience, can you tell a difference by looking 30,000 feet in the air from a cargo jet and passenger jet from
defense officials say the u.s. is flying predator drone thes over the iraqi capital. the drones are not meant to hunt military forces, only to protect american advisers if they come under fire. they are flying f-18 fighter jets over the area controlled isis militants. retired general jacobs. always glad to see you, sir. as you know, the u.s. said it is not going to send it in combat troops. but this is a definite escalation, right? it sort of is. we have to remember that the 300 advisers on the ground are really combat troops. they re not civilians or anything. they are special forces troops, seasoned special forces troops who are going to be with iraqi soldiers. they are combat troops. i was an adviser in vietnam. i saw plenty of combat. we also have lots and lots of civilian contractors.
elizabeth prann has the latest. reporter: we know president obama met with congressional leaders this week and while he said he doesn t need their permission to move forward, he will update lawmakers of any possible involvement. the administration says it s not ruling out anything at this point. any time you say, as the president has on many occasions, that he s not ruling out and never does the use of military force in a circumstance like this, that s not ruling in or saying there is a certain use of military force. reporter: this as military officials say the iraqi government requested air support encountering sunni rebels, but it may not be as easy as it looks. the pentagon s top leaders warn there are heavy risks that come with launching a bombing campaign, especially since target for now cannot be clear. there is an effort to gather more intelligence so the u.s. is flying an f-18 surveillance
assistance comes from the u.s. is not aimed at shoring up iraq s prime minister as pressure mounts to form a new government without him. militants control the largest refinery and a top official insist the government is still in charge. f-18 american military jets are flying over iraq and they make a lot of noise but as one official said it isn t so much about looking as it is being scene. lots of moving parts and heavy pressure on the obama administration. and we learned that president obama will make a statement on iraq at 12:30. let s bring in john mccain. senator, we heard the secretary say all options are on the table but yesterday the news from the