I thought that before the war we were sure they had planes in shallow dugout garages with sand roofs to fool the satellites.
But I haven’t heard about any Iraqi planes operating in the war at all.
They still do, but they are not operating. They flew at times during Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, enforcement of the No Fly Zones over the last ten years or so, but if they flew now, they would have a worse track record than they did in 1991, when very, very few got to practice their landings.
Well, if the Iraqi planes took off, they would likely do one of two things:
- Get shot down.
- Fly to Iran.
At least a few planes were flying pre-war , I was under the impression that he may have had airplanes , but no pilots.
No matter the nation , pilots are usually the smartest people that an armed force can have , as well as the most worldly. The grunts on the ground may have no idea about what the american and british armies could do , but the pilots in the airforce sure as shit probably did.
Usually thats why most dictators love scuds, point and shoot , and reliable.
Declan
Just to back up what everyone else has said already, here’s a BBC analysis:
But not particulary accurate. Scuds were outdated 20 years ago and the Soviet Union retired them from service in the 1980’s.
I’ve heard it said that “If someone fires a scud at you, the best way to avoid getting hit is just to stand still”.
We should also note that to keep a military plane flying, it usually takes 2-3 mechanics per plane, and a whole hanger full of manuals & spare parts.
And since 1991 Iraq hasn’t had much opportunity to import spare parts, or to send mechanics off for training, etc. They probably had to cannabalize some planes for parts to keep others flying. And even so, the planes would be about 10-15 years old now – what is the expected service lifetime of modern military planes?
I really suspect that they didn’t have very many planes that were fully functional. And that was before our bombing strikes started.
Hell, the German scientists who built the V-2 would have laughed at the Scud’s Accuracy
After Gulf War I, did Iran allow the Iraqi air force planes that had hightailed it across the border for saferty to return to Iraq, or did Iran impound them permanently?
“I’ve heard it said that “If someone fires a scud at you, the best way to avoid getting hit is just to stand still”.”
I like Sam Kinison’s explanation: You fire it, then you go home & turn on CNN to see where it landed.
[ul][li] France and Russia were supplying parts and I’m sure training mechanics (if asked).[/li] Do you have any idea how old the B-52 is?[/ul]
I recently heard on NPR that Iran kept the aircraft permanently.
Here’s an online reference:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/iraq/military_strategy/iraqi_forces.html
I just heard that our planes are now landing at Baghdad International. So now the question is where would the Iraqi Air Force operate out of anyway?
Well, the good ol’ USAF seems to be doing more damage than the Iraqi airforce could.
Here’s a recent one. I wonder if the pilot will get a medal from Saddam?
We do control Baghdad International, but looking at a map, there is military air base east of Baghdad. Of course, by now we may have that also. Yes, the B-52 is old, but it has been steadily upgraded through the years.
We do control Baghdad International, but looking at a map, there is military air base east of Baghdad. Of course, by now we may have that also. Maybe he should have invested in Harriers.