DCS developer jailed for smuggling Flight manuals

[basher54321]

"OGDEN — A Russian is jailed in Weber County, charged with smuggling F-16 fighter manuals to Moscow and trying to obtain guides for other front-line Air Force jets.

Oleg Mikhaylovich Tishchenko is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 19 in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City on charges of conspiring against the United States, smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act.

Tishchenko was arraigned and pleaded not guilty March 15.

He was charged in a sealed indictment June 15, 2016, but could not be arrested until this year after he traveled to Georgia and that nation agreed to extradite him. Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

U.S. Magistrate Brooke Wells in an April 10 detention order deemed Tishchenko to present a "serious flight risk" because he has no local ties, is accused of smuggling classified information and could face 10 years or more in prison if convicted.

U.S. marshals took Tishchenko to Ogden, where the federal agency has a contract to place pretrial detainees in the Weber County Jail.

The indictment and extradition affidavits filed in court do not explain the case's connection to Utah, other than prosecutors' statement that the alleged conspiracy occurred here in part.

However, court documents said U.S. Air Force special agents participated in the investigation, and all of the technical manuals listed in the case relate to jets that have been based or maintained at Hill Air Force Base: All models of the F-16, plus the F-35, F-22 and A-10.

In an affidavit, Homeland Security agent Mathew Lowry described two phases of the alleged conspiracy.

The first began in June 2011, when Tishchenko posted in a Russia-based video game forum seeking help for shipping fighter jet manuals.

He said he was bidding on some F-16 manuals that were for sale on eBay, but that he could not receive the shipment because of "restrictions placed on international bidders."

A Texas man agreed to help. He received the manuals and then shipped them to Tishchenko in Moscow. In an October 2011 message to Tishchenko on the forum, the Texan said he had made the shipment and joked, "If I get busted can you send me a hacksaw?"

Tishchenko, who identified himself on eBay as a developer for the Moscow-based Eagle Dynamics video game company, assured the Texan there was no problem because the manuals were "obsolete."

He only wanted to get manuals to "understand how stuff works" for implementing various fighters into the company's Digital Combat Simulation World game.

The federal documents are silent on the identity of the manuals' seller and whether that person was investigated.

eBay warned Tishchenko in February 2016 that his auctions of flight manuals were legally questionable, the affidavit said.

Agents said they obtained eBay records and learned that Tishchenko, from January 2012 through September 2015, auctioned F-16 flight manuals to buyers in Cyprus, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Taiwan.

The manuals contained "concise and clear instructions" for operating and maintaining F-16s, the affidavit said.

The investigation's second phase started in March 2016, when an undercover Homeland Security agent posing as a would-be fighter manual buyer and seller contacted Tishchenko on the same video game forum.

In a subsequent online chat, Tishchenko said he had collected many fighter manuals but "we still can't reach some stuff."

"We need it in our work," Tishchenko said, according to the document. "I'd like to get some maintenance manuals for the F-16C related to avionics. Actually, maintenance manuals for any jets, including the A-10."

The Russian said a direct request by Eagle Dynamics to receive the manuals from the U.S. government "is not an option."

He said he would like to acquire F-35 and F-22 flight manuals and he "could guarantee that these manuals will not be provided to any third party, and I think even not shown to anyone in our company."

The Texas man was indicted along with Tishchenko, but District Judge Dale Kimball in 2017 signed an 18-month deferral-of-prosecution agreement. Then, on Wednesday, all charges against the Texan were dismissed.

Assistant federal public defender Wojciech Nitecki filed a motion Monday asking Kimball to dismiss two of the five counts against Tishchenko.

Nitecki said the evidence did not support the charges involving the 2016 talks between the defendant and the undercover agent.

"He needed to develop flight simulator games," the motion said. "The two have never agreed to exchange anything nor arranged the time, place, or mode of the exchange."

Export licenses are needed for overseas shipment of any items on the U.S. munitions list, including combat systems manuals.

International Traffic in Arms regulations specify the State Department will deny any export licenses for shipments to numerous countries, including Belarus, Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and China."

Source: https://www.standard.net/news/military/ ... f5152.html

[juretrn]

Trying to acquire F-22 and F-35 flight manuals?
Holt sh*t, does he WANT to get arrested?!

[rheonomic]

Classic example of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes".

He said he would like to acquire F-35 and F-22 flight manuals and he "could guarantee that these manuals will not be provided to any third party, and I think even not shown to anyone in our company."

I'm sure the FSB wouldn't demand a copy.

[basher54321]

Didn't quite see the diplomatic implications.

Kremlin protests after U.S. arrests Russian accused of smuggling fighter jet manuals

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin protested on Wednesday over the extradition from ex-Soviet Georgia to the United States of a Russian man accused of smuggling F-16 fighter jet manuals into Russia in breach of U.S. arms export law.


Oleg Tishchenko, a software developer, was earlier this year extradited to the United States from Georgia, where he was reported to have been arrested on a U.S. warrant while attending a dance festival.

Russian diplomats say he is now being held in a Utah jail ahead of his trial later this year.

Tishchenko, 42, says he bought the F-16 fighter jet manuals on eBay in order to help develop an ultra-realistic flight simulator. He has been charged with five offences, including smuggling, conspiring against the United States, and violating the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, Russian diplomats say.

He was also interested in obtaining manuals for other more advanced U.S. military aircraft such as the F-35 multi-role stealth fighter, according to an affidavit in support of the U.S. extradition request.

The case is likely to worsen already poor U.S.-Russia relations which both Washington and Moscow have spoken of wanting to improve despite sharp differences over everything from Venezuela to Ukraine.

The Russian Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday it was possible that Tishchenko had been set up by U.S. authorities.

“There are signs in this case of a provocation by the U.S. intelligence services,” it said in a statement.

Asked about the case on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow was worried about the U.S. practice of having Russian nationals extradited from third countries like Georgia.

Russia itself does not extradite its own citizens, a practice that is banned under the Russian constitution.

“He’s a Russian citizen,” Peskov said of Tishchenko. “We are really worried and unhappy about the Americans carrying out such cross-border provocative actions towards Russian citizens. We are conveying our concerns and dissatisfaction to American colleagues at different levels.”

Russia will watch closely to ensure the United States properly observes Tishchenko’s rights, Peskov said...

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russ ... SKCN1SL13Z

[flateric]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Case doesn't mention any F-35 docs, just two unclassified F-22A TOs that were on sale on epay in early 00s - these lots are still in Google cache. Sellers though only shipped to US.

Anyway, _formally_ feds are right. "Formally correct, mockery on its merits". - Vladimir Lenin

Note that public defender "filed a motion Monday asking to dismiss two of the five counts against Tishchenko."

I wonder how this would affect sims and aircraft manuals market.

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

I didn't think ANY F-22 TOs were declassified

[basher54321]

Looks like someone has tried selling a Raptor -34 on ebay for $275:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TO-F-22A-Rapto ... 113?_ul=BY

[southernphantom]

I didn't think ANY F-22 TOs were declassified

Some brief Google-fu suggests that you are correct.

[rheonomic]

“He’s a Russian citizen,” Peskov said of Tishchenko. “We are really worried and unhappy about the Americans carrying out such cross-border provocative actions towards Russian citizens...”

That's rich coming from the Russians.

I wonder how this would affect sims and aircraft manuals market.

Sims for DOD can get the Dist D documents. Everyone else can wait for Dist A or do the best recreation possible from open sources.

[Lieven]

Russian deported after pleading guilty to smuggling F-16 fighter jet technical manuals

A Russian citizen was ordered deported Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges of violating arms control law and smuggling F-16 fighter jet technical manuals to Moscow.

In exchange for his admitting the charges, U.S. prosecutors dropped three other similar counts against Oleg Mikhaylovich Tishchenko, 42, who had been held at the Weber County Jail in Ogden pending trial.

U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sentenced Tishchenko to 12 months and one day of imprisonment but gave him credit for time served and added a 36-month term of probation.

The judge then ordered U.S. marshals to put Tishchenko on a flight to Moscow to fulfill Tishchenko’s “self-deportation.”

The order said Tishchenko had no U.S. criminal record and that according to the Russian Embassy, he had no record in his home nation either.

Prosecutors accused Tishchenko in a sealed indictment in 2016 with charges of smuggling and unlawful export of arms and munitions. Charges dropped in the plea bargain were counts of conspiracy against the United States, attempted unlawful export and attempted smuggling.

[...]

In court Wednesday, Tishchenko admitted arranging to have an American obtain two F-16 manuals that were up for sale on eBay and ship them to Moscow. Prosecutors said Tishchenko later auctioned F-16 manual materials to people in six other nations.

U.S. officials did not disclose the identity of the eBay seller or say whether that person was prosecuted or where and how the manuals were obtained.

[...]

The indictment said Tishchenko told a co-conspirator he also was interested in F-22 and F-35 manuals. Those two planes and the F-16 have a history of being based or maintained at Utah’s Hill Air Force Base.

[...]

Source: https://www.standard.net/police-fire/ru ... 7487a.html

[jetblast16]

If no F-22 TOs have been declassified at the time of this post, then why is one allowed to be posted on this site? Hey Mods; you need to take that down.

[marsavian]

'This item is no longer available'

[zero-one]

How accurate are DCS flight models anyway.

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

As long as it is a Player flown DCS aircraft, extremely. The Modules made specifically for DCS (not the Flaming Cliffs transfers) are rigorously tested against flight manuals and are then tested by former/current pilots of the given aircraft to ensure not just that the numbers are right but that the feeling is right.

When a Hornet pilot initially tested the Hornet module from start up to shut down on a bombing practice mission the major criticisms were along the lines of "BIT should take a little longer than it does here and the speed brakes deploy too slow" They constantly work on improving the modules until they get them right too.

You cannot find more accurate flight models of military aircraft.

[basher54321]

Surprised to see on a recent video someone demonstrating that pylon drag and weight was not taken into consideration on the FA-18C and F-5E - pretty basic stuff to be omitting.