Air Force pilots get new personal defense weapon

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Ethan N

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It looks like the DOLOS adapter. I wonder how much ammo they carry with them?
One photo in the article shows an Airman packing the survival kit with most of the contents laid out on a table, including three 30-round mags.

Edit: of course, I could just copy the photo here…
upload_2019-5-20_21-28-22.jpeg
 

dennishoddy

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Much better than the .22 rimfire they used to issue.
I'm amazed they don't have a can on it to keep it quieter. If a downed pilot needs to take some game, or snipe a solitary person or two, a SBR with a can would shure make it more friendly to keeping the location concealed.
 

Ethan N

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Much better than the .22 rimfire they used to issue.
I'm amazed they don't have a can on it to keep it quieter. If a downed pilot needs to take some game, or snipe a solitary person or two, a SBR with a can would shure make it more friendly to keeping the location concealed.
My guess is they’re not typically going to be left out in the cold long enough to need to hunt, and even with a suppressor hunting probably wouldn’t normally be worth the noise. Sniping also doesn’t seem like a great way to evade the enemy. There’s only so much space under those seats and they don’t wear survival vests anymore. If I went down in a desert, I’d probably rather have extra water than a can.

But what do I know? The only time I’ve ever been in an F-15 or F-22 cockpit was 20 years ago at an air show. Air shows were one of my favorite things about living next to an Air Force base and having that pink ID as a kid.
 

dennishoddy

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My guess is they’re not typically going to be left out in the cold long enough to need to hunt, and even with a suppressor hunting probably wouldn’t normally be worth the noise. Sniping also doesn’t seem like a great way to evade the enemy. There’s only so much space under those seats and they don’t wear survival vests anymore. If I went down in a desert, I’d probably rather have extra water than a can.

But what do I know? The only time I’ve ever been in an F-15 or F-22 cockpit was 20 years ago at an air show. Air shows were one of my favorite things about living next to an Air Force base and having that pink ID as a kid.

Different wars I guess. I've read a lot of books about downed aviators and most were not in desert areas, and some spent extensive time doing escape and evasion tactics.
Sniping like I said, a single enemy or more might just prevent capture because you don't alert the battalion of searchers a mile behind the scout.
Some of our pilots have written some very harrowing tales of their evasions even though some were later captured.
 

OKNewshawk

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Much better than the .22 rimfire they used to issue.
I'm amazed they don't have a can on it to keep it quieter. If a downed pilot needs to take some game, or snipe a solitary person or two, a SBR with a can would shure make it more friendly to keeping the location concealed.
Actually, it was a .22 Hornet, IIRC. That was more for survival (food and defense from predatory animals) than for protection from enemies. This is to give a pilot a fighting chance of surviving until the rescue helo arrives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArmaLite_AR-5
 

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