Volker Hetzer wrote:

:What did they mistake that airliner for anyway? A strategic bomber or what?
:And which of the enemies they were engaged with had bombers made by airbus?

If you don't know this then you don't know anything about the
incident. It is also clear that you don't know anything about radar.

The radar paint is not marked 'Airbus'. You can't tell what kind of
aircraft it is based on ANYTHING about the little dot you see on the
scope. It is, in fact, quite easy to miss entirely a skin paint with
no transponder block. It's just a little dot, after all.

The transponder block is supposed to tell you what is going on. It is
based on what the transponder on the aircraft does in response to the
radar paint.

Civilian aircraft typically have transponders set to send Mode 3/A and
Mode C. Mode 3/A has thumbwheels that let an aircraft set a unique ID
code in response to instructions from ATC. Mode C is an automatic
altitude transponder code.

Military aircraft can also send Mode 3/A and Mode C. There are some
other modes (Mode 1, Mode 2, Mode 4) that are only used by military
aircraft. Military aircraft can turn off the military-only modes and
can look just like commercial aircraft. They can even turn the
transponder off entirely.

Now, on to the actual events. The Vincennes had earlier seen an
Iranian F-14 in the area that the airliner flight was in. The two
contacts merged. They thought the airliner was the F-14. They also
grossly misread their displays, misidentifying course, speed, and
altitude change of the airliner.

Hint: If you don't know anything about what happened, perhaps it
would be better to avoid making smart remarks that merely highlight
your ignorance.

--
"Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the
truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong."
-- Thomas Jefferson