Venezuela may sell U.S. jets to Iran, others

phoenix80

Banned
CNN International

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/05/16/venezuela.arms.ap/index.html

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's military is considering the possibility of selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, a Venezuelan military official said Tuesday.

In response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, Gen. Alberto Muller, a senior adviser to Chavez, told The Associated Press he had recommended to the defense minister that Venezuela consider selling the 21 jets to another country.

Muller said he thought it was worthwhile to consider "the feasibility of a negotiation with Iran for the sale of those planes."

Even before the United States announced the ban on arms sales Monday, Washington had stopped selling Venezuela sensitive upgrades for the F-16s.

Chavez previously has warned he could share the U.S. jets with Cuba if Washington does not supply parts for the planes. He also has said he may look into buying fighter jets from Russia or China instead.

U.S. officials have said a 1982 contract requires Venezuela to consult with Washington before transferring any F-16s to another country.

The U.S. State Department, in announcing the ban on arms sales Monday, cited Venezuela's close relations with Iran and Cuba, both of which it deems state sponsors of terrorism.

Venezuela originally purchased its fleet of F-16s in 1983. Until Chile acquired a fleet in 2003, Venezuela was the only Latin American country to possess the warplanes made by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Chavez has accused the United States of breaching its contract to supply parts for the planes and of pressuring other countries not to help maintain them.

"The recommendation that I'm making to the minister, and which I will make to the president at the appropriate time, is that the [F-16s] be sold to a third party because if they aren't complying with their part of the agreement, we don't have any obligation to comply with our part," Muller told the AP.

U.S. officials say the agreement under which the planes were sold does not require the United States to supply parts indefinitely to Venezuela or to upgrade the planes.

U.S. officials say periodic amendments to the F-16 contract have authorized the limited sale of replacement parts to Venezuela in the past.
 
Venezuela, the land of opression and communism. Chavez is just a Castro in training, and if he damn thinks of selling the F-16s to Iran or Cuba. I guess that the ship trasnporting those planes will major accident while in transit or if they fly them, they'll be lost in the weather.
 
5.56X45mm said:
Venezuela, the land of opression and communism. Chavez is just a Castro in training, and if he damn thinks of selling the F-16s to Iran or Cuba. I guess that the ship trasnporting those planes will major accident while in transit or if they fly them, they'll be lost in the weather.

According to the International laws,the US has every right to seize that shipment before they reach any customer
 
special force mission? Operation destroy 21 F-16... Infiltrate enemy base in venezula.. destroy 21 F-16s.! lol.. but then again.. they might have the blueprint of it.. they had it since 82.. thats enough time to see how to build it and etc..
 
They're block 15's, almost 25 years old. While it's not ideal, it isn't really this scary thing for the US if Iran gets them.

The Iranians will lack spares or experience on the type, so it won't significantly increase their actual capability, if at all. It will however provide additional ammunition for scaremongering columnists.
 
F16s that old and underused will be no more than money pits. That's why the tanks sold to Australia last year were totally refurbished, right down to stripping and repainting.
 
Folks

Lets remember Chavez was Democratically elected, in a landslide to boot. That doesnt mean we have to like him, but its not completely accurate to compare him to Castro who overthrew a democratic government. If he tries to suspend or cook the next elections then the analogy is more appropriate.

Back to subject, PJ is right, the F-16 Block-15 is a money pit. I say let them sell it, its obsolete. The Iranians can park them right next to their fleet of F-14s, because they wont get spare parts for them either. Obsolete US jets make very expensive paperweights, even for oil rich countries like Iran and Venezuala.

Frankly, this move is strictly political not military. If Iran really was interested in a military upgrade they would do better buying the latest MiGs or Su's from the Russians. Bush would be better off just to ignore Chavez, as he's obviously trying to bait us.
 
mmarsh said:
Frankly, this move is strictly political not military. If Iran really was interested in a military upgrade they would do better buying the latest MiGs or Su's from the Russians. Bush would be better off just to ignore Chavez, as he's obviously trying to bait us.

Yup, Chavez likes annoying the US, so selling the jets to Iran is a quick win for him.
 
Iran's F-16 Maintenance Nightmare

May 17, 2006: The threat by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez selling 21 of Venezuela's F-16 fighters to Iran, has gained press attention. However, this is a threat that is largely empty in terms of potential harm to the United States.

The F-16s in question were acquired in 1983 and 1984, and are technically the F-16A/B Block 15 (F-16s currently in service with the US Air Force are F-16C/D Block 50s, with the F-16E/F Block 60 being built for the UAE). The planes in question are twenty years old – and for the F-16, that is very old indeed. These aircraft are not equipped with the latest radars, air-to-air missiles, or jammers. And, in the eight years since Chavez took power, they have not been getting much in the way of logistics thanks to the freeze in relations (upsetting the country which makes the spare parts for your combat aircraft is not a good idea).

That said, Chavez's threat to sell them to Iran is meant to generate headlines, and to symbolically hurt the United States. But this move, while it would violate various export agreements, really will not hurt the United States militarily, even if Iran were to get all 21 of these F-16s. The planes would be going from a country with very limited logistical support ability for the F-16 (Venezuela) to one with practically no ability to support F-16A operations at all.

For instance, none of Iran's planes currently in service use the Pratt and Whitney F100 engine that the Venezuelan planes use. Nor does Iran have any aircraft that use the APG-66 radar on the F-16A. Iran could use rear-aspect Sidewinders from its F-5 force, along with 20mm cannon ammo from its force of F-4s, but when something on the airplane breaks, Iran will have to cannibalize, and that means that 21 F-16s will quickly drop to a much lower figure – as past experience with Iran's force of F-5s, F-4s, and F-14s has shown. Venezuela could send over what spare parts and missiles (including older all-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinders), but the missiles will have a finite shelf life. Expired missiles are generally unhealthy for people who try to use them.

In other words, if Chavez is able to sell the planes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime in Iran, he will have sold 21 planes which will rapidly become a world-class maintenance and logistical headache for their new owners. But they will not be Chavez's logistical headache, and he can use the proceeds from the sale to, at a minimum, defray the cost for new fighters from Russia or China.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htproc/articles/20060517.aspx

Harold C. Hutchison
 
Back
Top