# So, ISIS now has MIGs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426 "2014-08-25T03:33:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/41 "2014-08-28T19:09:11Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Written about Admiral Byng, I believe. Whom the British executed for failing to defend Mahon, and unfortunately for him the last Admiral executed by his own country. I believe he was tried for not capturing all of the French fleet that he encountered. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/42 "2014-08-28T19:53:42Z")
They’re in ur base, killin ur doodz. Jihadi rush! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/43 "2014-08-29T07:49:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I assumed that the one parked outside was one and the same with the one in the hangar from the earlier Twitter photo (and presumably one of the two in the hangar shot) and they pushed it out for a better light, because of that paint on the vertical stab. The [photo](http://www.longwarjournal.org/assets_c/2014/08/IS-Tabqa-photos-5.jpg-3651.php) labeled “Two abandoned Syrian Airforce MiG fighters in a shelter” has a third plane right in front of the shelter. It looks much like the others. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s Syria, not Iraq. The Iraqi Air Force has shiny new F-16s, though it still has a small wing of Su-17s (a smallish bomber that entered service about the same time as the MiG-21.) Oops. For some reason I thought it was an Iraqi base that was captured. Not sure where I got that silly notion. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/44 "2014-08-29T07:52:07Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > They’re in ur base, killin ur doodz. Jihadi rush! All your base are belong to ISIS. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/45 "2014-08-29T14:58:03Z")
> [@XT](#): > > IIRC, the K13 looks pretty much the same as the AIM-9 (which isn’t really a big surprise since the Russians stole the design). Didn’t check the Twitter link, but my guess is the person was just confused. This is correct, I saw a picture of a rack of them and they were specifically mentioned then as being Russian knock-offs. > [@AK84](#): > > RAF procedure in the Second World War (they had a lot of experience in this) was to fly planes out before the base was within range of long range arty. I doubt the Syrians stayed when it looked like it as going to fall. This isn’t the RAF. The Syrians have lost several bases recently and haven’t managed to even blow an ammo dump on any of those occasions. They run. They don’t bother destroying anything. There were reports before the base fell, while it was under siege, of two jets being shot down as they were taking off or landing. Small arms fire or maybe something shoulder-launched. Tabqa was being used as the base for air support throughout the fighting. It was Assad’s only remaining territory in Raqqa province. ISIS might have captured as many as eight fighters here, simply because all the Syrians were more interested in running than disabling their equipment. Of course ISIS probably can’t operate them, and probably don’t want to taste the resources it would take. They will be more interested in seizing yet more artillery, armour, mortars, ammunition, and all the other stuff the Syrians abandoned in their haste to leave. They also got some SA-16 soviet-built manpads, which they posed with for the cameras. > [@Bozuit](#): > > Could the Syrian military really be so terrible that they leave fighters lying around when abandoning their bases? Yes. They’ve done exactly the same thing with supplies, ammo and terrestrial heavy weaponry over the last few months at all the other bases ISIS have wiped out. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/46 "2014-08-29T14:59:15Z")
Also, reports today that 200 of the defeated Syrians from Tabqa were captured and summarily executed. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/47 "2014-08-29T19:30:36Z")
I think I read somewhere–maybe one of those Twits, so definitely suspect–that ISIS captured “a test pilot.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/48 "2014-08-29T19:32:54Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > We must be living in a mod or something, everyone knows in vanilla Generals, the GLA doesn’t have an airforce. Ok, now I’ve finally gotten around to it: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/49 "2014-08-29T19:37:03Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I think I read somewhere–maybe one of those Twits, so definitely suspect–that ISIS captured “a test pilot.” “Sure, I’ll test that airplane for you. I’ll need a lot of gas though, to test it correctly, Allah Willing.” ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/50 "2014-08-30T00:07:21Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I don’t think this is correct. Both the F-86 and F-100 pre-date the Phantom and were both supersonic. > > My Dad flew them. > > But anyway, ISIS has about as much use for MiGs as they do a brand-new set of golf clubs. the F86 could break the sound barrier in a dive, but in level powered flight it couldn’t quite get there. Vne is listed at 687mph, and the sound barrier is 761 at sea level. > **[North American F-86 Sabre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-86_Sabre#Soviet_Sabre)** > > The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War (1950–1953), fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in compar... The super saber could, in level flight, get past mach 1 (Mach 1.3 max) > **[North American F-100 Super Sabre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-100_Super_Sabre)** > > The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United States Air Force (USAF) fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. > The F-100 was envisioned during the late 1940s as a higher-performance successor to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter. Initially referred to as the Sabre 45, it was delivered... ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/51 "2014-08-31T12:08:50Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > The [photo](http://www.longwarjournal.org/assets_c/2014/08/IS-Tabqa-photos-5.jpg-3651.php) labeled “Two abandoned Syrian Airforce MiG fighters in a shelter” has a third plane right in front of the shelter. It looks much like the others. Apparently the camouflage is still working. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/52 "2014-08-31T14:05:43Z")
[http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/30/ISIS-says-it-forces-abduct-pilots-to-train-fighters.html](http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/30/ISIS-says-it-forces-abduct-pilots-to-train-fighters.html) > [@](#): > > ISIS says forcing detained pilots to train militants: report > > The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria said in a recent tweet it is forcing detained Syrian pilots to train militant fighters to fly stolen aircraft, CNN Arabic reported on Saturday. > > In an account reportedly associated with the militant group, ISIS said in a tweet the pilots were abducted when the group gained control over the Tabqa military airbase in Raqqa Province. > > ISIS seized the airbase earlier this month. The major airfield houses warplanes, helicopters, tanks and other artillery and ammunition, which were also confiscated by ISIS, according to several media reports. > > ISIS did not provide any information about the nature of the training, according to CNN Arabic. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/53 "2014-08-31T14:29:42Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > We must be living in a mod or something, everyone knows in vanilla Generals, the GLA doesn’t have an airforce. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Ok, now I’ve finally gotten around to it: > > 😕 It’s a joke referencing a video game. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/54 "2014-12-28T02:00:21Z")
Apparently they really do have a pilot now, from [either a shoot down or crash](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30596474) of some nameless Jordanian jet. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/55 "2014-12-28T02:55:51Z")
> [@bump](#): > > More like 1959. > > And without pilots (very unlikely) and mechanics (slightly less unlikely) it doesn’t matter. > > Plus, I suspect if the USAF is operating in the area, they’ll probably take care of any of those planes that make it off the ground. Otherwise, I doubt they’ll waste the munitions to destroy them. It was in production until 1985. With a handheld GPS they could do a low level run on the presidential palace and take out Assad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/56 "2014-12-28T16:44:39Z")
Seriously? I mean, it’s theoretically possible, but highly unlikely considering they have no trained pilots. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Apparently they really do have a pilot now, from [either a shoot down or crash](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30596474) of some nameless Jordanian jet. It’s an F-16. You can see the one-piece canopy in the pictures (plus the pilot has what looks like a Facebook photo in front of the aircraft further down.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/57 "2014-12-28T17:53:00Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Written about Admiral Byng, I believe. Whom the British executed for failing to defend Mahon, and unfortunately for him the last Admiral executed by his own country. Admiral Canaris was executed in Flossberg Concentration Camp on April 9, 1945. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/58 "2015-02-03T18:20:51Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Apparently they really do have a pilot now, from [either a shoot down or crash](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30596474) of some nameless Jordanian jet. Not any more. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/59 "2015-02-05T03:33:08Z")
From Wiki’s write-up of the F-100 (deathbed): “the Air Force began phasing out the F-100A in 1958, with the last aircraft leaving active duty in 1961”. So the F-4 was the first supersonic to be actually usable. Planes which kill their test pilots don’t often have long, happy lives. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426/60 "2015-02-05T03:45:27Z")
That’s the F-100A. F-100Ds and -Fs served in Vietnam, and weren’t retired from the Air National Guard until 1979. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-isis-now-has-migs/696426.md?page=4)