US fighter jets drop bombs on Great Barrier Reef
Published on 21/07/2013 15:09 news.Scotsman.com
 
Two US fighter jets dropped four unarmed bombs in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park when a training exercise went wrong, it has been revealed.
The two AV-8B Harrier jets launched from aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard each jettisoned an inert bomb and an unarmed explosive bomb in the World Heritage-listed marine park off the coast of Queensland state on Tuesday, the US 7th Fleet said.
 
 
　
　
that'll teach those sea otters not to mess with the U.S.of A.

Isn't that what barriers are for??

yeah.... details are.... the bombing range was closed for safety reasons, the jets didn't have enough fuel to make it back carrying the ordinance, so they dropped them into the water. The site selected  was deeper water designed to minimize damage to the reef....and the bombs were not armed to explode.
 
Hummm... a little bit of coral or a pair of $37 million dollar jets and crews?
 
yeah... they made the right call.
 
JMHO

In related news, a spokesman for the reef was quoted as saying "We will retaliate!  We will not be bullied by others just because they're bigger!"
 

 
Gunfight at the OK Coral?

bit of a beatup-there was strong opposition to America setting up permanent bases here as we reposition ourselves politically as part of Asia and I suspect the press are looking for justification.
I call it a beatup because nearby dredging for the new LNG and coal terminals,agricultural fertiliser and herbicides runoff ,bleaching from global warming and the proximity of an increasingly busy shipping route together with mass tourism are far more damaging than unexploded ordinance. 
just my opinion..............
 

Well, NASA once "nuked" Jupiter so what's something small like the Great Barrier Reef?

 
' so what's something small like the Great Barrier Reef?'
 
actually,it`s not that small.
if you consider the UK is 50,346 square miles, Texas is 266,874 sq miles and the reef is 344,400 sq miles,you could lose a hell of a lot of stuff there!

Webbs Hill Studio
there was strong opposition to America setting up permanent bases here as we reposition ourselves politically as part of Asia
 
We're  everywhere. The United States (from the Dept of Defense website) has military bases in 140 countries (and growing)
 
When you consider there's only about 200 countries in the entire world this number is a bit disconcerting.

webbs hill studio
 
' so what's something small like the Great Barrier Reef?'
 
actually,it`s not that small.
if you consider the UK is 50,346 square miles, Texas is 266,874 sq miles and the reef is 344,400 sq miles,you could lose a hell of a lot of stuff there!

'Tis small when you're comparing it to Jupiter like I was though.