Venezuela May Sell Its U.S.-Made F-16s to Iran

Drudge

[NOLA_homebrewer]

"...if you called one an Arab he got seriously upset..."

Iranians are not Arabs, they are Persians, they consider themselves decendants from Alexander.

It's a lot like telling an Egyptian he's African.

[Howlin]

How well-maintained are they? Are Iranian pilots any good? Do they have spare parts?

Wow, that rings a bell. Haven't we read in past years how horrible the Iranians were against Saddam? Or was it the other way around?

[GAB-1955]

Maybe we can figure out a way to have the Israelis hijack the ship and seize the aircraft (as contraband of war going to a state they're at war with).

[WoofDog123]

i think provoking the US is the general idea behind all of this. No one thinks these planes are a tactical asset of any signifigance against modern equipment.

The political value of doing as some here suggest would be a huge payoff for chavez, though.

If he sells them to Iran, the US will complain and do nothing, or do some quid pro quo economic retaliation.

[thackney]

i wonder if jets we sell to other countries have software to disable them for just such cases

We depend on hardware for this function.

[razorback-bert]

Want to bet?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F16-Belgium-Army-parts-aircraft-F104_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ26439QQitemZ4639865272QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


F16 Belgium Army parts aircraft

[redgolum]

Many, Mad Chavez is really trying to get us to coup him isn't he.

[thelastvirgil]

Time to press those remote self-destruct buttons on those F-16's. We DO have remote self-destruct buttons on them...don't we?

[elfman2]

Sounds like Chavez's feeling irrelevant again.

[Constantine XIII]

When did Chuck Norris join the USAF? :D

[Constantine XIII]

They killed their pilots? O_o

How retarded is that?

[ASA Vet]

You were correct.

[ExSoldier]

See this is why every piece of crewed warfighting equipment we sell should have an electronic method by which our government can disable it during action.

I got that idea from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. The secret code by which one federation starship can lower the shields of another without the ability to override....

[MassachusettsGOP]

Ok, well sink them on the ships they are sent on.

[BunnySlippers]

Yes, you are correct. Sadly, Drudge misquoted Breit Bart whose headline said this: Venezuela Weighs Selling U.S. Jets to Iran

We can't count on the MSM. And we can't count on the Internet media either.

[ExSoldier]

Are Iranian pilots any good? Do they have spare parts?

No. & No.

We sold stuff to the Iraqis during the Iran/Iraq war because we (correctly) were worried about the Islamists. I doubt that Iraq was able to maintain that stuff long enough to do the Iranians any good now, or else they'd have used the same stuff against us in '03.

[Bryan24]

Reading between the lines, these planes cannot be maintained or flown now, so he wants to get rid of them because we won't sell him anymore upgrades.

[roaddog727]

LOL

[montyspython]

Spare parts aside, Iranian pilots are sub-par.

[Michael Goldsberry]

Are Iranian pilots any good? Do they have spare parts?

Do they have a chance against the USAF?

No.