Originally Posted by
Andy
You said TACAIR, with your comment aimed at centerline thrust military aircraft.
Mass casualties are merely a bonus for terrorists. Wreaking financial havoc through fear was their goal in 9/11 and I doubt that goal has changed. These people recruit martyrs; I don't think they care about body counts.
If you think that having a few airliners getting an engine shot off is public failure, OK. And if they wanted to increase the possibility of downing an airliner, they just need two or three MANPADs targeting a single aircraft.
Actually what they crave is publicity which stems from body count, the higher the better. Objectively mass murder usually is the objective. Did Hamas go after power plants, network infrastructure, etc.? Nope.
Interestingly enough causing long-term damage to infrastructure or economy has never seemed to be in their playbook. As fas as anyone can tell they're looking for immediate gratification, something the angry, unsophisticated man on the arab street can appreciate and understand. Which isn't economic indices 18 months down the line.
They didn't expect the twin towers to collapse, they aren't smarter than the structural engineers who built them (who didn't account for the dynamics of a 300kts collision or many thousands of gallons of burning Jet A).
Anyway, BlueScholar summed it up. Lots of stuff in life to worry about, manpads are low on the list (if you're informed about them).
This conversation reminds of a guy at a past airline (ground instructor) who preached vehemently about the hazards of 50 cal sniper rifles to airliners, apparently he thought you could take out the engines. There were two of us in that class who had actually used such weapons
