[Chode]

yeah, but the body will be the same ambient temp as as the dirt around the body... and the plane will be moving kinda fast for something that small... in a helo i'd understand, but not F-16's unless it's all recorded for later computer analysis

[Spktyr]

That's probably what they're going to be doing, and I suspect the 16's will be cruising around at about 300mph.

IIRC, I think this is actually Holland's best airborne recon system - they're heavily invested in '16's and don't have much by way of rotary-wing assets. I don't know that they have any choppers that can mount a LANTIRN pod or that have FLIR systems of the required sensitivity.

[Spktyr]

Also, unless you steamroller the grave afterwards (and, by the way, that also shows up on IR, just not nearly as long), the soil density is lower in a shallow grave and thus it cools off faster and heats up slower than the surrounding soil - and the difference is visible on IR.

[tang-soo]

nd the plane will be moving kinda fast for something that small.

As you point out, this can all be recorded for detailed examination later.