Forum: F-16 News

Roger that, they cant even work on them by themselves, they need contractors to do the work for them, hell...they would not even know what they had if it bit them in the a$$ Smile

Salute my man!

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parrothead wrote:

You guys want to join me in that activity after Castro dies (hopefully SOON! Mad

) ? I can't wait for Havana to be the Las Vegas of the Caribbean again Cool

!

Not to disappoint you and Meathook, but Castro's doctor says he'll make 140.

And next weekend, Jessica Alba and I are gettin' hitched.

Rolling Eyes

Meathook wrote:

Quote:

Roger that, they cant even work on them by themselves, they need contractors to do the work for them

I doubt it. Same thing was said about the F-4, 5, 14 after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, yet the used them successfully in the 8-year long war with Iraq and some of them are still operational (something like 25 out of the original 79 Tomcats and some 50 Phantoms out of the original 200+). You could argue that they had lots of spares in the first place and maintenance facilities.

But that's not the case with the 24 Mirage F1s which fled from Iraq in 1991. They got with them only 3 IL-76 transport planes filled with spares and weapons, and some 20 F1s fly to this day.

Iranians can make parts. That's not the problem. The question is, as I've said earlier, if it's worth it, considering 1. the age and wear and tear of the planes 2. Adding yet another type to their already too mixed fleet (8 types of combat planes from 4 different countries)

LinkF16SimDude wrote:

Quote:

And next weekend, Jessica Alba and I are gettin' hitched.

Now I really envy you... Evil or Very Mad

I still don't think they maintain their fleet by themselves, after all, even the nuclear powerplants (recently talk about) have been run, developed (mainly) by Russian and Chinese technicians.

I don't feel as strong about their skills as you do (I think you give them too much credit). I know many, many people who work as contractors in foreign nations to maintain and teach other nations how to work on the their aircraft. Many work their full time, I know quite a few of them and was asked myself but chose not too.

I think it is happening more then you think (and just because you may not be aware of it, doesn't mean it isent happening). I knew about thirty to forth guys myself that do this for Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, Turkey and Kuwait right now...just to name a few.

You may wish to reconsider that stance Smile

Well Meathook, now we get into another story! Yes, they got help (remember the Iran-Contras deal?)
They received spares for their F-4s also from Israel, Europe and South-Korea during the war with Iraq.
F-5 spares from North-Vietnam.
Rumor is that some high-tech F-14 parts were produced in Russia, than the production lines sold to Iran...
The Mirage F1s were put into service and first crews trained with the help of Pakistan.
I never said they didn't receive any help. They did. Whay matters is that planes are kept up and running and crews trained, spares produced - the end result counts.

I'm aware about the "assistance" many AF get because they can't use their toys by themselves and I know some stories about this from the "other side" of the iron curtain.

BTW, did you ever wonder why Iraqi MIG-25s were flown in such an agressive manner during DS and after, compared to the general behaviour of the rest of the Iraqi AF? ...well the answer is above, between the lines.

I must reply to this one...
As much as the whole prospect of uncle Hugo selling his gate guard falcons to Iran sounds horrific to the general public...Get real. Sell em to whom ever, big deal. I remember how allies of our maintain aircraft that have been "donated"...
... Hmmm many smoking holes in the desert.

All this talk is pandering to the US media. The media who in turn are in my opinion doing everything in thier power to defeat and demoralize the efforts of thoes who serve.

I have a vision of this... CNN or CBS being there in Iran as the first falcon sold either ends up short, on final, or the crane unloading the container from the ship snaps and POOF!

What a tool!

Crying or Very sad

Do you think the US will sabotage them? You know, sort of a "Take that you fat b@stard!!!"

I am sure it has been considered and I am betting much of the avionics software will develop problems soon after they leave towards there intended sale base...funny how that happens sometimes huh.

Excuse me for playing the devil's advocate here but how and where is Uncle Sam going to mess up with those Vipers? It's not like Lockheed Martin has a remote control for them! - or is it?

You never know. Remember when Huge'o threatened to sell the F-16's the first time and the US sent them parts? What if that was crossing the line to the US gov and those parts that were promised were 'faulty'? Twisted Evil

Some twisted speculation for ya!

There are allot of things that happen in electronics that most never know about, some are planned (bug's) some are timed, others...well, some things we just don't talk about.

I have no problem with the clown in South America selling his aircraft, we control his system configuration, software and hardware support, nothing there to worry about, we know the capabilities and what to shut off and when....that's all I will say about that.

It's very unlikely that Chavez would sell his F-16s to Iran. But Iran would definitely pay the money for them. We seem to be thinking in our occidental logic. In a country governed by a "different" regime the military logic will be different as well.

If badly maintained F-16s can remain airborne 3 hours and "Kamikaze" somewhere , - IMO - It's already a good weapon.

Forum: F-16 News

Venezuela to possibly sell F-16's to Iran?