Originally Posted by
Pontius Navigator
GR, good answer. I believe it was postulated a few pages back that they would normally Fire two missiles for a higher PK.
Buk PK is pretty high anyway for a large a/c target - presuming whoever it was thought they were firing at a transport aircraft. Not sure two at once would be SOP, especially if you only have four. If fired from Schizne then there would be time for a second shot if the first misses.
I suggested that the damage suggested late functioning and as only one missile was launched it was an lucky hit.
Your supposition supports that.
Where it will go off will depend a lot on target radar profile (to the fuse radar), missile and approach angle. There are some combinations of missile/target/approach that result in zero PK (at least in simulation) usually due to the fuse triggering too soon. Note - if I ever knew details of any examples they are long forgotten, not that I could say anyway.
In this case, if the missile was approaching from directly below (or above) and fused at the side of the cockpit, then, yes, that looks a bit late.
On the other hand, if it is approaching from the front, maybe slightly to one side, it could be exactly as designed/expected. Depends on which part of the a/c the fuse will "see". It may be the wing box and/or engine fan that is the biggest return or centre of it. Fuse distance seems most often quoted as 17m, although I have seen other numbers (large radius zone, this is a big warhead). By my reckoning, approaching from front slightly to one side, 17m from wing box / engine on a 777 would put you right about the cockpit window...