Australia Cracked US Combat Aircraft Codes

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Australia Cracked US Combat Aircraft Codes

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Thursday September 20, 2007 @02:51AM from the end-run-around-the-bureaucracy dept.

SpamSlapper writes "Former defense minister Kim Beazley has told how Australia cracked top-secret American combat aircraft codes in the 1980s to enable the shooting down of enemy aircraft. The radar on Australia's US-made Hornets could not identify most potentially hostile aircraft in the region — they were set up for European threats — but despite many requests, the codes were not provided, so 'In the end we spied on them and we extracted the codes ourselves.' The Americans knew what the Australians were doing and were intrigued by the progress they made."

22 of 280 comments (clear)

Fortunately for America... by Dystopian+Rebel · 2007-09-20 02:57 · Score: 4, Funny

"Austria" is a friendly OPEC member.

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Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
1. Re:Fortunately for America... by Ajehals · 2007-09-20 03:02 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I just read your post (after posting my own) and had a sudden heart stopping moment that I had read Austria as Australia, as a Brit I assume that would be unforgivable, after all everyone knows that those Australians in their leather pants and kiwi accents are totally different from the BBQ obsessed, Cricket incompetent Austrians.
2. Re:Fortunately for America... by Scrameustache · 2007-09-20 03:29 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  as a Brit [...] Cricket incompetent Austrians. To be fair, cricket is a made up sport without any real rules that the British and their colonies play in order to confuse outsiders.
  
  We're on to you...
  
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  You can't take the sky from me...
3. Re:Fortunately for America... by phoenixwade · 2007-09-20 04:44 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Australian's have ozzie accents :) After thinking long and hard on this, I realized that none of the Aussie's i've met sounded like they were in the middle of a two week drug binge.
  
  --
  A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
4. Re:Fortunately for America... by kalirion · 2007-09-20 06:22 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  To be fair, cricket is a made up sport without any real rules that the British and their colonies play in order to confuse outsiders.
  
  If only you knew the true horrors of the origins of cricket..... That's one reason the rest of the universe looks down on humans. To make a game based on the Krikkit Wars.....
5. Re:Fortunately for America... by IngramJames · 2007-09-20 08:52 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You're half right.
  
  Actually, cricket is an excuse to lie in the sun all day drinking beer while watching other people do gentle excerise. The rules are there so that anyone who questions what you're doing will eventually give up and go away by the time you're explaining the rule for Leg Before Wicket - if not sooner. Anyone who has taken the time to learn the rules enjoys lazing in the sunshine, so you're safe from them.
  
  The only flaw in this otherwise superb idea is that Britain doesn't actually get any sunshine.
  
  --
  'No rational religion claims "supernatural" exists, that's an atheist slander.' - seen on slashdot.
Re:hm by biocute · 2007-09-20 02:59 · Score: 4, Funny

Former defense minister. It's easy to be forgotten if you're too quiet.

Back on topic, this is what you got for not using open source aircrafts.

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Virtual Betting on Facebook for non-geeks.
Understandable by A+beautiful+mind · 2007-09-20 03:00 · Score: 5, Funny

Mr Beazley said the Americans knew what the Australians were doing and were intrigued by the progress they made.
So, we knew that they knew that we cracked the aircraft codes. But did they know that we knew that they knew? It also begs for the question that if they did, did we know that they knew that we knew that they knew?

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Be yourself no matter what they say
Re:Procurement by gardyloo · 2007-09-20 03:00 · Score: 4, Funny

It's OK --- DVD John will get that sorted out in a few days.
Cartoony image by packetmon · 2007-09-20 03:00 · Score: 4, Funny

The Americans kept saying they'd provide the codes, but never did. Pictures tall kid dangling candy over another kids head. "Here you go" kid jumps... "Sucker..." "Here you go!" kid jumps again... "Sucker..."

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Infiltrated dot Net
Just wondering... by corser · 2007-09-20 03:03 · Score: 5, Funny

does the DMCA apply retroactively? If so, then Australia can never step foot in the US again.
We were ALL impressed by elrous0 · 2007-09-20 03:03 · Score: 4, Funny

The Americans knew what the Australians were doing and were intrigued by the progress they made.

Well, keep in mind that there was a huge Aussie fad in America in the mid-late 80's. We were ALL surprised at how much progress they made at the time. If it hadn't been for the unfortunate "Yahoo Serious" setback in 1988, who knows what they could have ultimately done.

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SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Here is the secret code by Seumas · 2007-09-20 03:08 · Score: 5, Funny

Up
Up
Down
Down
Left
Right
Left
Right
B
A
START
Intrigued? by InvisblePinkUnicorn · 2007-09-20 03:11 · Score: 5, Funny

"Oh look at them, they're trying to crack our codes..."

"Oh look, they're actually succeeding. How intriguing!"

"Hey, wait a sec, they're pointing those missiles at use. I continue to be intrigued!"
the USA didn't do anything about it by circletimessquare · 2007-09-20 03:13 · Score: 5, Funny

because at the time, all Australian aircraft fuel was under seige by Lord Humongous in the desert, and Crocodile Dundee was MIA on a walkabout

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intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Re:.. And as usual.. by skyshard · 2007-09-20 03:19 · Score: 4, Funny

whoooooooooooooooooooosh! did i just see something pass overhead?
Re:Thrilling story by Xtense · 2007-09-20 03:23 · Score: 5, Funny

Outsmarting somone is enormously satisfying. If this is true, then you won't mind me being satisfied over nitpicking a typo, eh? :)

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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams [...]."
Re:Procurement by Xiaran · 2007-09-20 03:24 · Score: 5, Funny

I suspect Australia(disclaimer Im Australian) thought that as the US and Australia are very close allies the USAF might give us the ability to use the aircraft we purchased. But hey we followed the US into Iraq so what the hell do we know :)
Re:Thrilling story by irtza · 2007-09-20 03:43 · Score: 4, Funny

no, I don't think this is a type. Search for somone and u will see that somone is often requested to fix things in numberable fields. Somone is quite smart, so I would be satisfied outsmarting somone. 138,000 search results on google and I am only now hearing of somone. Unbelievable!

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When all else fails, try.
Re:Impotance? by ZuluZero · 2007-09-20 03:44 · Score: 4, Funny

I think the post meant to say "Impotence" - the inability to shoot when desired.
Re:.. And as usual.. by internewt · 2007-09-20 04:29 · Score: 4, Funny

whoooooooooooooooooooosh! did i just see something pass overhead? Yeah, a hornet with crippled radar ;)

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Car analogies break down.
Re:Cricket Rules by Mikkeles · 2007-09-20 05:39 · Score: 4, Funny

Here you go:
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he is out. When they are all out, the side that's been out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out, he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who are all out all the time, and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

(Floating around the net :^)

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Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.