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| Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press |
“It’s important we get to the bottom of this sooner than later because of the possible repercussions that can flow beyond from this, beyond the tragic loss of life.”
The plane was en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Amsterdam. There were no reported survivors among the 280 passengers and 15 crew members. Ukraine’s president, Petro O. Poroshenko, called for an immediate investigation. Mr. Poroshenko said he had called the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, to express his condolences and to invite Dutch experts to assist in the investigation. “I would like to note that we are calling this not an incident, not a catastrophe, but a terrorist act,” Mr. Poroshenko said. Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, said, “If it transpires that the plane was, indeed, shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.” Using forensics evidence from the site, as well as the satellite data and any intercepted communications would help analysts and investigators determine who fired the lethal missile. Defense Department officials late Thursday said they were examining the possibility that Ukrainian separatists with Russian advisers may have fired a captured Ukrainian Army BUK missile system. The separatists do not otherwise have the technology to shoot down an airliner at such a high altitude, the officials said. Another possibility, a senior Pentagon official said, was that Russian troops just across the border from eastern Ukraine may have fired the missile. In both scenarios, the senior official said, the missile operator likely mistook the Malaysian airliner for a Ukrainian military transport plane. A third possibility, the official said, was that the Russians supplied the rebels with the SAM. “At this point, we just don’t know,” said the official. Reporters arriving at the scene near the town of Grabovo described dozens of lifeless bodies strewn about, mostly intact, in a field dotted with purple flowers, with remnants of the plane scattered across a road lined with fire engines and emergency vehicles. “It fell down in pieces,” said one rescue worker as tents were set up to gather the dead.
"Showcasing the UHAC during RIMPAC is a big deal," Dave George of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, which developed the UHAC with funding from the Office of Naval Research, said in a press release. "This is a great way to let people know that this new technology is being developed."
"The full-scale model should be able to carry at least three tanks and a HMMVW (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle),"
"There has been a one-fifth scale model, then a one-quarter scale model and this is a half-scale model, so we have been progressing,"
Frank Leban, program officer at the Office of Naval Research, said in a statement. "Every vehicle has incorporated more features and technology to help get us to the full scale."
"This is a great way to show what it can do," said George. "Today went quite well."
