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."
I would consider them to be "old". The F-16 is a very capablefighter, but it might as well be aSopwith Camelcompared to the F-22. We have the technology to defeat those F-16's, as well as to evade them. Not to mention that Iran's best pilots are laughable compared to ours.
Ahmedinejad could not control the skies above Iran with those alone.
These were not "top of the line" fighter jets and are not on-par w/our current F-16, whoever ends up w/them has to know they will not get supply/spare parts for them, they will end up like the F-14's and P-3's Iran got way back when, they had to scrap some to keep a few going to where now they are hardly any threatat all, not to mention Fighter pilot training is the more inportant aspect, and not many other countries come close to us......
Awwww come on guys, whats the harm in gettin rid of a few F16s from our hemisphere and putting them somewhere that will make them GREAT target training aids for our boys when we have to "get it on" with them nextyear???
Abdul can hardly man a camel or fire an AK47 accurately, what makes anyone think they can successfully dogfight our boys over there, even in our own planes???
RA
ps
Now that you mention it, ya know "technically" an F16 loaded with either a "dirty bomb" or a chemical warhead "COULD" be considered a WMD. I say let Iran have ALL of em and then we don't have to worry about the UN having to go search for anything that would permit us to just fly in and take that fleabag country over in the future!!!
Even if the Iranians would buy "American imperialist" planes, which I seriously doubt since they hate our gutsand westuck them with planes for which they could no longerget parts in '79 , the only reason they would buy them would be to sell them to another unfriendly nation to study . Even the jets we sell to our own allies are sub-par to the ones our boys fly , all they really get is the airframe , not the cool stuff inside . Chavez , as usual , is just blowing smoke to make himself look important .
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Kevin Haendiges
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You're right Kevin about the F-16s. He is just trying to rattle our cage on this one. Chavez is just like a child trying to get our attention. We do need to deal with his country somehow due to their oil supply....it wasn't lost on China who already have a deal in our own backyard for their supply.
04 I'm sure it's some sort of electronic upgrade, either guidance or weapon systems related. Technically the F16 is a 30 year old airframe design but with the technological gains in electronics and military over the last 20 years, steady upgrades and "add ons" have been implemented across the board upon our fleet of military aircraft. A 1986 F16 is only related too a1996 F16 in general fuselage shape, the rest is like comparing an abicus board too a super computer. The builder (can't remember, is it Northrup/Gruman?) and weapons/elecs systems maker generate SUBSTANTIAL profits each year by selling such upgrades. In fact moreso than selling new planes themselves. Congress and the Pentegon control not only domestic buying of military hardware but they also get to say who does and does not get to buy such hardware abroad. (This is how we know who has what without having to see it in person.)
I say give em the go ahead. But the catch MUST be that Hugos BEST and BRIGHTEST pilots must be the ones who fly them too Iran. Go ahead and give them flyover and landing rights too our airbases/fuel stops along the way. No one said they WOULD make it did they???
RA
Venezuela may sell U.S. jets to Iran, others
, the only reason they would buy them would be to sell them to another unfriendly nation to study . Even the jets we sell to our own allies are sub-par to the ones our boys fly , all they really get is the airframe , not the cool stuff inside . Chavez , as usual , is just blowing smoke to make himself look important .
