Exclusive: U.S. Finds Radioactive Missiles in Iraq

NewsMax ^ | 3/9/04 | Charles R. Smith

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

U.S. Army troops operating at a former Iraqi air base recently made a startling discovery: Russian-made missiles marked with radioactive warning signs. Army bomb disposal troops confirmed using Geiger counters that the missiles are indeed radioactive.

The discovery is not, however, considered the long-sought "smoking gun" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

The missiles appear to be part of a cache of weapons supplied to Iraq before the 1991 Gulf War.

The Russian-made R-60, NATO code name AA-8 Aphid, air-to-air missiles are part of a huge stockpile of former Iraqi Air Force munitions uncovered in over a dozen concrete bunkers.

The Russian-made missiles are more than 6 feet long. Each carries 1.6 kilograms or about 3.5 pounds of radioactive uranium wrapped around a high explosive warhead.

The uranium is not pure enough nor in large enough quantity to be a nuclear warhead but it is dangerous enough, as you can see from the label:

U.S. bomb experts noted the R-60 warheads are similar in design and content to a so-called "dirty bomb" that could contaminate a small area with radioactive materials.

Difficult Disposal

The discovery of the uranium-laced R-60 missiles illustrates the difficulty that coalition troops have in trying to dispose of the billons of dollars of Iraqi weapons left behind after the second war.

The R-60 missiles cannot simply be destroyed because the uranium-laced warheads could pose a health hazard to coalition troops and Iraqi civilians.

Army bomb-disposal experts have gathered up all the R-60 missiles found at the site and quarantined them at a single, heavily guarded location.

The R-60 has a very small 6-kilogram (13.2-pound) explosive warhead. The R-60 missiles supplied to Iraq by Russia contained uranium in their warheads to assist the small explosive charge in destroying targeted aircraft.

Russian weapons designers added the uranium belt to the missile in order to knock-out western aircraft using the dense metal as a way to punch through heavily armored sections of U.S. made jets.

U.S. troops also found a small number of advanced R-60M warheads at the site. The R-60M missiles are equipped with an advanced laser destruct system that detonates the warhead when it passes close to a target aircraft.

More Russian Missiles

In addition, U.S. troops uncovered several large air-to-surface Kh-28 missiles, NATO code-named AS-9 Kyle.

The Kh-28 is a Russian-made, anti-radar, air-to-surface missile with a top speed of more than 2,000 miles an hour.

The missile is approximately 19.5 feet long, 17 inches in diameter, has a wingspan of 5.5 feet and weighs more than 1,500 pounds. It carries a conventional 340-pound high-explosive warhead and has a range of 54 miles.

U.S weapons experts are also handling the Kh-28 missiles carefully, but not because of its electronic radar-seeking warhead.

The Kh-28 is powered by a liquid-propellant propulsion system that consists of a fuel tank and an oxidizer tank. The oxidizer is a dangerous chemical known as "red fuming nitric acid" or IRFNA. Each missile carries approximately 20 gallons of IRFNA.

The oxidizer is considered to be highly dangerous and a possible carcinogen. U.S. Air Force disposal squads dismantled a Kh-28 found after the 1991 Gulf War using full Hazmat suits and special anti-chemical gear.

Again, U.S. forces are taking great care in the disposal of the missiles for fear of exposing coalition troops and local civilians to hazardous chemicals such as the oxidizer found in the Kh-28 missiles.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The discovery is not, however, considered the long-sought "smoking gun" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Somebody kick me.

[Arrowhead1952]

Smoking gun ping.

[Lance Romance]

Dan Rather? Tom Brokaw? Chris Matthews? Aaron Brown? Where are you?

[Samwise]

Nothing to see here. Move along.

[zarf]

NewsMax again....ho hum.

[DoctorMichael]

Bttt

[jwalsh07]

If this isn't a "smoking gun" then guns don't smoke.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Print a quiet rebuttal in the Times and we can MoveOn.

[ex-Texan]

*BUMP*!

[Final Authority]

DU is somewhat radioactive and is uranium. If the missles contain DU (depleted Uranium) then they are little different than the tank buster rounds that the A-10 spits out. Now if they find plutonium?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

America has WMD. We just don't bury them in the desert. If Iraq was not hiding their WMD, why do they keep turning up buried?

[biblewonk]

Somebody kick me.

NFS. It reminds me of when I was a terrible batter and the kids on the block would keep pitching slower and more perfect so I'd finally hit the ball and get the game moving. They'd all be yelling "AH C'MOM WHADDA WANT!!!!"

[ContemptofCourt]

Ummm, its not a WMD...its an air to air missle. How would this be a smoking gun?

[biblewonk]

Oops, it was "WHADDAYA WANT??!!!"

[NorseWood]

But . . . but . . . but they were just intended for peaceful purposes!

[Dead Dog]

From www.fas.org

AA-8 APHID K-60 (R-60, Object 62)

Toward the end of the 1960s the Molniya design bureau begin working on the first missile for tactical air combat, the K-60 (R-60, Object 62), with infrared self-guidance. Series production of this missile began in 1973, with the R-60 missile being certified as a weapon for a variety combat aircraft.

The R-60 missile is an unusually small missile, weighing half as much as the lightest Western missiles, with a correspondingly small warhead which weighs barely 3.5 kg). The R-60 on attack aircraft such as the MiG-27, Su-24 or Su-25 serves as a self-defense missile, and on fighter aircraft such as the MiG-23, MiG-25, and Su-15 it is occasionally used as a supplementary missile. The R-60 missile had an unusually short development time, with only four years passing from the beginning of its design to the beginning of its production -- the normal development process of Soviet air-to-air missiles typically required 8 to 9 years. This rapid development was facilitated by the availability of a wealth of experimental data on the K-13 missile, and no new research was done for the R-60. Further developments of the R-60 include the R-60M missile, the export variant R-60MK, and the UZR-60 training version.

Specifications Manufacturer Date Deployed 1975 Range 3 km, 5 km 10 km Speed Mach 2+ Propulsion One solid-propellant rocket motor Fuze Two active radar fuze aerials located aft of the moving control fins, and a single strake running down the forward half of the body. Active laser in R-60M Guidance All aspect Infrared Warhead 6 kg ( 1.6 kg of which is uranium ) HE fragmentation Launch Weight 65 kg Length 2.08 m Diameter 130 mm Fin Span 0.43 m Platforms Mi-24, Su-15bis, Su-17M3, Yak-38, Su-25, Su-24M, MiG-21bis, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31

[Saturnalia]

I imagine the uranium in question is unenriched at worst,
DU being far more likely. Not much of an issue here, lots
of stuff in military use can be toxic if handled incorrectly.

[cinFLA]

Move along. move on . org

[RightWhale]

Not a dirty bomb. More like a nail bomb.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Dan Rather? Tom Brokaw? Chris Matthews? Aaron Brown? Where are you?"

I don't see anything on FOX either.

[Frank_Discussion]

!!

[Old Sarge]

Not good enough to be the smoking gun.

There was no signed/notarized confession in Saddam's hand-o-write.

There were no CNN war sluts on the scene when the munitions were manufactured.

Besides, THEY say - and you all know what THEY say - that WE put those hot missiles there, from our own stockpiles.

Moreover, it's all GWB's Fault!

[Spunky]

"Dan Rather? Tom Brokaw? Chris Matthews? Aaron Brown? Where are you?"

THERE WITH THEIR

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Russian-made AA-8 Aphid air-to-air missiles

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Thanks for the ping!
Another story the big 5 liberal media won't carry.

[BlueNgold]

Well well well .. the search for the smoking gun has turned up the 'glowing gun'.

Wasn't Sen. Highball .. oops I mean Kennedy ... actually mocking VP Cheney this weekend for suggesting that the weapons search was as yet incomplete? Go get em Dick!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Ummm, its not a WMD...its an air to air missle. How would this be a smoking gun?

What exactly is a WMD? If the missiles that Iraq had that they said they didn't have don't count, and the 2 tons of uranium that Iraq had that they said they didn't have don't count, and the nerve agents that Iraq had that they said they didn't have don't count and now the dirty bombs that Iraq had that they said they didn't have don't count, what could possiibly be evidence of WMD? A nuclear missile in a silo ready to launch?? How far are we going to let the left raise the bar?

I guess my feeling is that with all of this hardware and hazardous material laying around for us to pick up, what must have been in the convoys that left the country before we attacked???

[theDentist]

If they found a 5 lb bag of cyanide hidden in somebody's yard it wouldn't be a smoking gun either....

... of course, they did.

[BlueNgold]

Depleted Uranium Fragmentation warhead.
Gotta be careful with it, but it's not designed as a NBC weapon.

[Use It Or Lose It]

It looks like the "real thing"; it smells like the "real thing"; it KILLS like the "real thing."

[CatoRenasci]

Looks a whole lot like a "Sidewinder"

[pawdoggie]

One must always consider the source when dealing with "NewsMax". US Army magnetic lensatic compasses always had a "radiation" warning on the back (i.e. "don't remove the back cover") since they contained a small amount of radioactive material to illuminate the needle and the compass headings on the dial. If the nuclear material in these missiles was enriched or easily reprocessed, Saddam would have had his bomb ahead of schedule. Doubt that this was the case, however.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

At least we know you can't kill anyone with an airliner. /sarcasm ;)

[Soaring Feather]

bump

[optimistically_conservative]

How far are we going to let the left raise the bar?

LOL, HEU or plutonium tipped SCUD would do it.

The arms in the article were legal for Iraq to possess and they got them before the sanctions.

The bar is set at the unaccounted for BW and CW listed in UNSCOM's 1998 report as well as the mobile labs, aluminum tubes and UAVs that this administration added on.

[Mo1]

The discovery is not, however, considered the long-sought "smoking gun" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Maybe .. but I'm going take a guess and say that Saddam wasn't suppose to have them

[Fresh Wind]

The left has been upset for years over our use of depleted uranium ordnance during the first Gulf War, citing all sorts of environmental damage, and health risks to anyone in the area. Now, it seems that Saddam had similar weapons and may have used them in that war. Somehow, I have the feeling that all the blame will forever be pointed directly at the US, and not one word will ever be uttered against Saddam.

[concerned about politics]

Got this in an e-mail today complete with pictures, but I can't move the pictures from the e-mail file --

Maybe you heard about it, now you can see it!

MIG Buried in the Sand

This was send to us from a friend that is over fighting for us.

It makes you wonder what else is buried out there.

Photo courtesy of MSGT T. Collins, USAF

(photos I can't move to FR. Darn!)

The Iraqi jet, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat, was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S. troops.

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 sand, 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 being recovered by U.S. Air Force troops in the photos is an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the West and is equipped with sophisticated electronic 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 weighs nearly 25 tons.

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 more than 10 feet beneath 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 sand.

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.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Russian weapons designers added the uranium belt to the missile in order to knock-out western aircraft using the dense metal as a way to punch through heavily armored sections of U.S. made jets.

A "heavily armored" jet? Heavily armored and jet are mutually exclusive because of weight restrictions. It takes a relatively small explosion to bring down a jet. Something doesn't jive here.

[Frank_Discussion]

I believe this would be a reference to fighter jets, and yes, they are armored.

[Blood of Tyrants]

As far as I know, the cockpits are the only armored sections, and not all of them are.

[Blood of Tyrants]

P.S. So knowing that pilots took longer to train than it did to build an aircraft, could the idea have been to kill the pilot so he couldn't eject and mount up in another jet?

[BadAndy]

"A "heavily armored" jet? Heavily armored and jet are mutually exclusive because of weight restrictions. It takes a relatively small explosion to bring down a jet. Something doesn't jive here."


Don't forget the A-10 is armored since it flies low and slow.

[PISANO]

This makes little sense. Why would an air to air missile be radioactive. Then again what difference does it make. The rat hole idiot lost BILLIONS of dollars, many mega-castles, complete authority over 25 million people, and a dictatorship just because he would not provide documentation showing, WHAT EVERYONE NOW SAY IS A FACT, that he destroyed his WMD.

[DAPFE8900]

The radioactive sign doesnt mean it iss a smoking gun it means that it has radar that emit rads to like a nuke...

[DAPFE8900]

The radioactive sign doesnt mean it iss a smoking gun it means that it has radar that emit rads to like a nuke...

[HenryLeeII]

The discovery is not, however, considered the long-sought "smoking gun" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

The missiles appear to be part of a cache of weapons supplied to Iraq before the 1991 Gulf War.

Ummm, since when did the acquisition date become a criteria for the Iraq invasion? I don't care if Hussein acquired these missiles on the day of the Resurrection! If he possessed them at any time that the 1991 cease fire agreements were in effect, he was in violation of them and countless U.N. agreements. Result: Bush is still correct in his decision to invade, but now with even more evidence to back him up. I'll be sure to tune into Rather's broadcast tonight for a fair & balanced report on this development!!!

[snooker]

It makes no sense to me either.

But just suppose you fired a half dozen of these into NYC. What would be the consequences?

Something smells funny.