Combat Tree in reverse

[Rosdivan]

A question that popped into my head earlier today: Would Combat Tree, or the information that enabled Combat Tree, have allowed an aircraft to false-flag itself as Soviet to USSR radars?

 

[Lauge]

A question that popped into my head earlier today: Would Combat Tree, or the information that enabled Combat Tree, have allowed an aircraft to false-flag itself as Soviet to USSR radars?

At the risk of posing Stupidest Question of the Month: Combat Tree ??? ??? ???

Regards & all,

Thomas L. Nielsen
Denmark

 

[Abraham Gubler]

COMBAT TREE was the coded nickname for the AN/APX-81 fighter sensor that could detect the identify friend foe (IFF) of Soviet fighters and que the fighter to an intercept. Was used by the US in Vietnam and by Iran against Iraq. Made obsolete by improvements in AEW and fighter radar that could detect and track fighters at low altitude at longer ranges than IFF response.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1028.0

As to the question of using COMBAT TREE for a false flag it was a sensor not a responder. It also worked by triggering/detecting the Soviet IFF emissions not be interpreting them. So the intelligence needed to make COMBAT TREE work - ie what frequencies the Soviet IFF worked on - would not necessarily provide a false flag IFF response - ie translate a coded response. If the US and allies had such intelligence it would just be incorporated into the fighter's own IFF system and provide a friendly response to Soviet IFF interrogation.

 

[r16]

now this has opened up what was exactly Combat Martin ?

 

[Abraham Gubler]

COMBAT MARTIN: F-105Fs, carrying QRC-128 VHF jammers to block communications between MiGs and GCI-centers

www.designation-systems.net

Pretty straight forward really...

 

[r16]

ı was rather mystified by the comments of "USAF '72" Phantom pilots in a book that ı had to return to its owner . Can't recall what was the exact situation but they seemed to disregard the value if any . Probably they wanted the MiGs come to grips , instead of going around in circles over their airfields.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

ı was rather mystified by the comments of "USAF '72" Phantom pilots in a book that ı had to return to its owner . Can't recall what was the exact situation but they seemed to disregard the value if any . Probably they wanted the MiGs come to grips , instead of going around in circles over their airfields.

Well I'm sure the Phantom crews would have a different perspective on air to air engagement than the F-105 crews. COMBAT TREE was a system used by Phantoms to find MiGs and COMBAT MARTIN was used by F-105s to avoid MiGs. The two are very different.

 

[r16]

in one of my strange ideas , ı had formed this notion that the secrecy surrounded the Combat Martin to the mid80's ( my books tend to date from that period ) was due that USAF did actually tried to forget the entire episode . ı also had this hearsay that will be posted in this section of the forum only with the provision that it is a hearsay , an unproven claim , that the F-105s involved did jam F-4 frequencies at least once , how ı don't know , as it appeared the Sparrow shots would endanger the Takhli Thuds .