REPORTED "INTRUSION" OF UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT IN JOHOR

last SG · 2006-03-17T09:51:38+00:00

March 18, 2006 ----Yesterday the Prime Minister clarified that initial investigations by the police and the Defence Ministry found the aircraft was still wit...

nWo SG

Source: Malaysian National News Agency - Bernama

March 16, 2006 15:32 PM

MINDEF Probe Into Unidentified Aircraft Over Johor

BUKIT TINGGI (Pahang), March 16 (Bernama) -- The Defence Ministry is investigating the reported circling of an unidentified aircraft in the airspace above Johor's Gelang Patah, hardly 500 metres from the state's border with Singapore.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is Defence Minister, said ministry officials were interviewing a person who had snapped a picture of the aircraft to learn where he was when he took the picture so that it could be ascertained whether the aircraft was in Malaysian airspace then.

Asked whether it could be a Singaporean aircraft, he said: "We cannot assume but I suppose the chances are that it was. However, I will reserve my comments until that is verified."

Bernama reported yesterday that people from several villages in Gelang Patah were at their wits end over the din caused by an aircraft circling above.

According to a resident of Kampung Tebing Runtoh, the drone of the aircraft could be heard daily up to late into the night.

Using a high-powered lens, a Bernama photographer managed to take a picture of what seemed to be a grey-coloured aircraft.

Najib said Malaysia knew of things like this but "if the aircraft is small, it requires keen observation by individuals or members of the public".

"We will monitor. We always monitor," he told reporters after delivering a keynote address at a closed-door seminar attended by senior army officers at De Colmar Tropicale Resort, here.

In his speech, Najib said the army's capability should be enhanced further, particularly its readiness to meet current demands.

He said the army's development would take into account rapid changes in the surrounding environment and its existing capabilities.

-- BERNAMA

fedor86 SG

this is interesting. UAV perhaps?

Hocklez SG

hmm, interesting... Very Happy

dork3d SG

Maybe trying to shift the focus of the bridge to other issues.

martin_lim85 SG

maybe our chinooks that just came back from detachments?

AF2005 SG

no radar???

Manager433 SG

Shame on you guys up North. Your radar can't even pick up intruders in your air space. Shame shame shame.

gd4u SG

Eh, i dun really see the need to intrude their airspace leh, although some of their equipment are newer and better than us …

martin_lim85 SG

the time is just nice that our a/c come back Laughing

kelong70 SG

What the hell. Any aircraft flying unidentified in their airspace in future will be assumed as a RSAF plane la? This is illogical loh. Why can't it be an Indonesian plane? Their radar sooo lousy. Maybe it's their own plane and they cannot identified it Mr. Green . I think that they are trying to make some news. They always like to create something out of nothing. It's not new.

equlus84 SG

Hmmm......Maybe it is some recreational planes that they mistake for a UAV? The problem with radar is that if the plane fly low enough or it's RCS is veri small, it can avoid detection. Now it is time to convert some of out Sparrow-N uav to something like the Harpy. Twisted Evil Mr. Green

|-|05| SG

Two things of note, the new paper said that it took a picture but they did not display it. Why? i dont know.
Maybe they are afraid people might be able to identify it.
Number 2, the mindef guy said i suppose it could be a singaporean aircraft. Meaning it could be an aircraft owned or taken off from Singapore it does not mean it is a RSAF asset.

spartan6 SG

For all we know it could be their own aircraft “snooping around” at something south n it got spoted by their civilian n made a woohah. Tat way e pic were never reveal,imagine e embaressment.

Shotgun SG

Aiya.. i rather they get some form of radar coverage down there instead of accusing us all the time. Wth.. A monkey take picture of some housefly in the sky also accuse RSAF.. nonsense

equlus84 SG

Since the news was first published by some tabloid like papers, I won’t be surprise that the event is actually “doctorated” by some ppls. Perhaps they did that to up their papers’ popularity. Even if they give the photo it might have been a photo-shop version in which perhaps they graft and RSAF pics and put it against some blue background.

lwflee SG

Sounds like a UAV flying at a low altitude. I too was exasperated when, whilst on an exercise, someone decided to fly a UAV over where I was sleeping. It was bloody noisy and made me lose faith in the UAV. Until someone told me that the UAV could fly very much higher.

I gave the UAV a middle finger for their troubles.

wonderamazement SG

Have you ever thought of the possibility of them placing their own planes up there and push the blame to us? Buggers, never stopped finding fault.... Laughing

donchoo SG

Damn it la. their stupid tabiold papers, always full of rubbish. Exclamation

cyrusv SG

keep cool boys....don't get sentimental over this....we are friends to malaysia Cool Cool Cool

storywolf SG

UAV don't fly low, they are design to fly high which their camera is at their best - giving a bird eye view of the whole place, their camera are equip with powerful zoom which does not need it to fly low. At that height it is flying, it is design to be totally soundless to anyone on the ground and against background, it is too small to see.

So think what the malaysia folks is complaining will most likely turn out to be what is becoming popular in Malaysia - ultra-light or so power guide parachute stuff .