RAAF F-111 sinks smuggler ship (video)

All I can say - that's one helluva video! I like the way the Aussies deal with smugglers when they refuse to comply!

After being caught trying to smuggle drugs into Australia the Pong Su was sunk by two 2000-pound (900 kg) laser-guided bombs dropped from an RAAF F-111 aircraft. The deliberate destruction of the freighter was said to deliver a strong message to international drug smuggling rings that the Australian Federal Government would take all measures necessary to stop illegal drug importation.

Royal Austrlian Air Force F1-11 sinks North Korean Drug Ship

The ship was impounded and destroyed as a result of being caught trying to smuggle heroin in to Australia - there weren't any people on it

Heres the Wikipedia Story Just for clarification...Had to look this up as I really couldn't believe The Aust Defence force would just Blow up a civilian ship using that much force. Being ex Oz Navy I have seen smuggling ships blown up but usually on the grounds they are a "hazard to shipping channels" and always after removing the crew.

Anyway, that's the way to do the job. I hope that this example can teach some llessons those drug trafficking ###!

And CthulhuRising, thanks for clarification!

I just read in the paper that a few days ago a ship tried to ram an Aus battleship, and the battleship opened fire and forced the other ship back into international waters.

GO AUSSIE GO!!! There's only one stance that can be taken against drug runners and people smugglers: a tough one.

Here's a link to the story WTR is talking about for those that are interested.

Navy opens fire on poacher

Edit to fix link - I've been away from ATS for too long...

[edit on 23-8-2007 by Willard856]

What a bunch of nut jobs.. and nutjobs with balls I might add?
Didn't they think that the patrol boat would return fire?
What were the dimensions of the poach' boat?
Were the patrol boat crew outnumbered and out-sized?
If not then I think its a pity that nobody was taken into custody.

Any reason for such overt violent actions? Instigation etc etc..

Sounds almost ridiculous to me, but I think we're not getting the entire story; esp the bit about how it all started and why nobody was apprehended.


And good to have you back Willard. For a while I thought you'd actually been replaced by bozian and winged wombat in the aussie contingent here at ATS!

This is the one they caught thats good but there needs to be more patrols around the coast not only to stop drugs but other things that people want to smuggle in the country

Originally posted by Sth Hemisphere
This is the one they caught thats good but there needs to be more patrols around the coast not only to stop drugs but other things that people want to smuggle in the country

Like us, you guys have a pretty giant coastline. Have to do the best with limited resources, unfortunately.

i imagine that boat won't be poaching again in aussie waters . but not because they got scared away but because they limped away and sunk.
now if only the us coast guard would put a stop to mexican and chinese fishermen from fishing in our waters. and no i am not talking about pacific or gulf of mexico or carribean . i am talking 5 miles of coast of north carolina. they fish here year round i have seen them myself coast guard won't do anything about it unless you catch them dumping drugs or in distress.

The question is was it worth the thousands of dollars worth of bombs they used. Some petrol and a match could have done the same job with less cost to the tax payer.

Petrol and a match would pose a significant risk to personel.

Some of the boats in question are larger than the patrol boats that do the bulk of the border protection work in Aus. Illegal fishing vessels that operate as part of an organised syndicate usually have a large vessel (or ice boat) that serves as storage of stores and logistics, while the smaller vessels get the fish. The bigger ships can run if required, and is much harder to board and aprehend, while the smaller boats are dispensable. And our Patrol Boats can't be everywhere. Most of the larger vessels are close to the EEZ line, and I'm sure most people on here can work out that it takes time for a Patrol Boat skipper to call back to Canberra, get the Minister on the line, and get approval to fire directly at the vessel.

As for a waste of money in using F-111s to destroy the vessel, it isn't every day you get a legitimate target (by legitimate, I mean a proper target type rather a mound of dirt). The bombing serial would have been planned anyway, so it didn't cost anything more than would have been payed anyway, and the aircrew got good training value.

And good to have you back Willard. For a while I thought you'd actually been replaced by bozian and winged wombat in the aussie contingent here at ATS!

As I'm sure you can tell, work has been somewhat busy recently. I've occasionally scanned the boards, but haven't had much posting time. Not sure if that is going to change anytime soon. But thanks for the welcome back anyways!

good #...people with real ballz, unlike some pussies out there...