Posted on 08/06/2003 12:35:40 PM PDT by HighRoadToChina
Iraqi 'Mach 3' MiG Buried in Sand Charles R. Smith Wednesday August 6, 2003
NewsMax.com has obtained exclusive photos of a buried Iraqi jet fighter being recovered by U.S. Air Force troops. The Iraqi jet, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat, was found buried in the sands after an informant tipped off U.S. troops. Click here to see the MiG buried in the Iraqi desert.
The MiG was dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqqadum airfield by U.S. Air Force recovery teams. The MiG was reportedly one of over two-dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sands, like hidden treasure, waiting to be recovered at a later date.
Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found were from the Gulf War era.
The Russian made MiG-25 Foxbat recovered by U.S. Army troops in the pictures, is an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the west and is equipped with sophisticated electronics warfare devices.
U.S. Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth moving equipment to uncover the MiG which is over 70 feet long and weights nearly 25 tons.
Click here to see troops digging the MiG out of its hole.
Click here to see troops towing the jet away.
All photos courtesy of MSGT T. Collins, USAF
The Foxbat is known to be one of Iraq's top jet fighters. The advanced electronic reconnaissance version found by the U.S. Air Force is currently in service with the Russian air force. The MiG is capable of flying at speeds of over 2,000 miles an hour or three times the speed of sound, and at altitudes of over 75,000 feet.
The recovery of the advanced MiG fighter is considered to be an intelligence coup by the U.S. Air Force. The Foxbat may also be equipped with advanced Russian and French made electronics that were sold to Iraq during the 1990s in violation of a U.N. ban on arms sales to Baghdad.
The buried aircraft at Al Taqqadum were covered in camouflage netting, sealed and in many cases had their wings removed, before being buried over ten feet underneath the Iraqi desert.
X MARKS THE SPOT
The discovery of the buried Iraqi jet fighters illustrates the problem faced by U.S. inspection teams searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq is larger in size than California and the massive deserts south and west of Baghdad were used by Saddam Hussein to hide weapons during the first Gulf war.
U.S. intelligence sources have already uncovered several mass grave burial sites in the open deserts with an estimated 10,000 dead hidden there. In addition, Iraq previously hid SCUD missiles, chemical weapons and biological warheads by burying them under the desert sands. U.N. inspection teams found the weapons in the early 1990s after detailed information of the exact locations was obtained.
Top U.S. weapons inspector Dr. David Kay is known to favor human intelligence as the primary means to find Iraq's hidden treasure trove of weapons and secrets.
While there are rumors of Iraqi chemical and biological weapons being shipped to nearby Syria, the weapons may very well still remain inside Iraq buried under the vast desert wastelands.
Some critics of the Bush administration have claimed that the inability of U.S. forces to uncover weapons of mass destruction is proof that the President misled the nation into the war with Iraq. However, in recent days the critics have fallen silent as word quietly leaked from Iraq that major discoveries have already been made and are now being documented completely. Bush administration officials are keeping any such discoveries secret for the moment.
I cannot believe that you emitted that statement.
"All your base are belong to us".
Sorry...
In what way are you counting? ...and from when? That aside from the "who cares" in regarding supplying to Israel.
I have over 11 years of experience as an electronics/quality assurance engineer in aerospace amd nine years previous experience in the USAF. I distinctly recall the same argument being used against the MiG-17 as it spread Thud and Phantom parts all over North Vietnam.
The only thing that we agree on is that it was stupid to bury the MiBs without some sort of protective coating.
My USAF intel buddies give me a warm fuzzy feeling that we know lots, make that LOTS more than is being revealed about WMDs.
Well, I'm not sure this violates the "Loose Lips" mandate, but US planes have LONG passed that 2000 mph.
The SR-71 top speed is still classified, but is well past 5000 mph.
As far as the F-14, I have been told that it took a squadron 55 minutes to cross the US from California to a Carrier leaving South Carolina...and that was with 2 slowdowns for re-fueling. You do the math.
Don't ask for "source" or "proof". Take the info or leave it, no sweat off my front.
>They must not have tested it very well. It should have been a single wire to ground (plus ornamentation), yes?
Well, they probably asked for a floating zero-volt supply in order to eliminate ground-loop inaccuracies.
<]B^)
That's all right. Keep piling on. I can take it.
I got your other reply, and am glad to hear that all is well with you. Can't wait to see the CD!
FReep on!
They also got jobs as nightlights.
Ivan says, wash with vodka! Oh wait, they don't have that in those Islamic countries.
It'll go that fast, but the crew will become crispy critters since the cabin cooling won't keep up the frictional heat generation.
I never cease to be amazed by the Blackbird. Kelly Johnson was a wizard.
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