I’ll throw out a theory — information overload. These crews are trained to process that information, or they should be. But Aegis destroyers are very sophisticated with their powerful radars and navigational equipment. It’s easy to imagine an undertrained crew being over-reliant on them.
Story: USAF pilots were actually shot down over Vietnam because the radar because in aerial combat the radios when bonkers with chatter, and the newly installed radar threat receivers would start squawking. Pilot shot down. In those instances where the pilot was recovered, some were asked, “why didn’t you turn when your flight lead called for a break?” The answer was inevitably, “I never heard the call.” Then they’d play the recording and the pilot ‘heard it’ for the first time.
So, the problem is likely not with ships systems, jamming or hacking. It’s probably the watches being undermanned, undertrained and they are failing to confirm what the radars are seeing. The OOD’s conning the ships are hesitating which is bad in a congested sea lane.
[The answer was inevitably, “I never heard the call.” Then they’d play the recording and the pilot ‘heard it’ for the first time.]
I was wondering if that was what happened to Bob Lodge in Oyster flight in 1972. I had heard at least one jock say he turned off SAMs tracking him because he had the AIM-9’s growling along with the chatter on the radio and it was too much. The F-4 trailing Lodge and Locher said Lodge never broke when warned of the 2 MiG-19 (copies) that came up from below in between him and his wingman.
I had wondered it was info overload or turned down for the fight as Lodge and Locher were on a kill streak.
Yikes