The F-22 that took down China's surveillance balloon used the call sign 'FRANK01' in an apparent homage to a heroic pilot from WWI
On Saturday, as F-22 pilots shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon floating near South Carolina, the callsigns of the airmen contained an apparent homage to a WWI hero.
Onlookers cheered as the pilots, identified as "FRANK01" and "FRANK02," circled China's spy balloon near Myrtle Beach as it floated over the Atlantic Ocean, waiting until the object was safely away from civilians on the ground to avoid the risk of falling debris.
Pilots use callsigns in place of their names when communicating, both for security and identification purposes. The "FRANK" callsigns appear to be a reference to a WWI pilot, Frank Luke, the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor after shooting down over a dozen aircraft, including 10 spy balloons, in just eight days during World War I.
"The military jets using the call sign "FRANK" is significant," Marcus Weisgerber, global business editor for the global security news outlet Defense One, tweeted after the callsigns were identified by an airspace monitoring account.
"Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter ace in World War I better known as the 'Arizona Balloon Buster.'
He is credited with shooting down 14 German surveillance balloons.
Link
On Saturday, as F-22 pilots shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon floating near South Carolina, the callsigns of the airmen contained an apparent homage to a WWI hero.
Onlookers cheered as the pilots, identified as "FRANK01" and "FRANK02," circled China's spy balloon near Myrtle Beach as it floated over the Atlantic Ocean, waiting until the object was safely away from civilians on the ground to avoid the risk of falling debris.
Pilots use callsigns in place of their names when communicating, both for security and identification purposes. The "FRANK" callsigns appear to be a reference to a WWI pilot, Frank Luke, the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor after shooting down over a dozen aircraft, including 10 spy balloons, in just eight days during World War I.
"The military jets using the call sign "FRANK" is significant," Marcus Weisgerber, global business editor for the global security news outlet Defense One, tweeted after the callsigns were identified by an airspace monitoring account.
"Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter ace in World War I better known as the 'Arizona Balloon Buster.'
He is credited with shooting down 14 German surveillance balloons.
Link
