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To: sonofstrangelove

Yup. Part of me says these aircraft could be something of a problem for an adversary, but the other part says most of the problems are going to be on the Iranians. First of all, you gotta’ maintain that equipment. None of these aircraft are simple (especially the F-14), but F-4 is not exactly a Piper Cub either. If you don’t maintain ‘em, you either park ‘em or crash ‘em. My guess is that they’re parked.

If the aircraft are parked, then no one is trained on them. Their transport aircraft are in the same category. Most of the pilots don’t, or shouldn’t, fly those aircraft. When it happens, it is quite common to have them “crater”. All things considered, their air force is not a credible threat to anyone but their own pilots.


3 posted on 05/03/2010 10:49:57 PM PDT by Habibi ("It is vain to do with more what can be done with less." - William of Occam)
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To: Habibi

Remember the story that the Iranians were trying to steal F-14 parts.


5 posted on 05/03/2010 11:21:38 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Wernher Von Braun)
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To: Habibi

About a third are actually flying last I heard. They do understand the need to maintain proficiency, after all, we trained their senior officers...


7 posted on 05/04/2010 2:08:39 AM PDT by DJ Elliott
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To: Habibi

Getting the parts for maintenance is not that hard, as they just send the parts to China, who reverse engineers them and manufactures new parts (including parts for the Phoenix missiles). The real problem is having the personnel trained to do the maintenance.


8 posted on 05/04/2010 12:15:22 PM PDT by tarawa
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