Posted on 08/30/2010 3:40:46 AM PDT by kronos77
Tehran Times Political
TEHRAN – A top general declared on Tuesday that the Iranian Air Force is seeking a return of fighter jets it bought from the U.S. in the 1970s.
The United States sold 80 F-14s to Iran in 1974. However, it refused to deliver them to Iran after the Islamic Revolution.
“We want to take back bombers blocked by the U.S. because it is our legitimate right. However, this issue must be pursued by relevant organizations through relevant channels,” Hossein Chitforoush, the Air Force Deputy Commander, told the Mehr News Agency
August 5: The Tehran Times reports that the Iranian Air Force is seeking a “return of fighter jets it bought from the US in the 1970s”.
Hossein Chitforoush, the Iranian Air Force Deputy Commander, said “We want to take back bombers blocked by the US because it is our legitimate right. However, this issue must be pursued by relevant organisations through relevant channels.” The US sold 80 F-14s to Iran in the late 1970s, but the report claims “it refused to deliver them to Iran after the Islamic Revolution”.
Out of the 80 F-14A Tomcats ordered, all but one were delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air Force before the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. The outstanding aircraft, BuNo 160378, was put into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona until being refurbished as a NF-14A and used at the Pacific Missile Test Centre at Point Mugu in California. It was last noted back at Davis-Monthan with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) and was still resident as of June 12, 2010.
Ok, but they’ve been through a lot since the 1970s and probably won’t fly.
Uh, F-14s are not halal.
LOL!
I think Israel will send them some bombers.
That is more logical.
In the other hand, Iranians will get their ordered F-16s very soon I hope- they are redirected to Israeli AF after fall of Shah - and will be soon flying over Teheran :)
Hossein Chitforoush?
More like Hossein Chitforbrains, from the sound of this press release.
Blessings and peace be upon him
F-16s are especially not halal. Being designed and built by pig eating, dog loving infidels afterall.
It did, to Imperial Iranian AF.
Zero will sell them some F22s instead, in a show of good faith.
But since Obama is the POTUS, our cooperation seems much more likely.
It could not possibly be more clear that the Iranians suffer collectively from clinical insanity.
Just send ‘em 80 copies of “Top Gun” on VHS.
People in hell want ice water too. But with Obama at the wheel, they may get their planes.
Have their President come get them!!
Can’t Gates issue a fatwa against providing any planes to a Shiite country?
It was back in 1976 before the Republican Guard attacked our embassy because of Carter’s ineptitude.
Just like Chavez has some F16s.
Posted 10says ago with quite a bit of discussion...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2572355/posts
False. The Iranians already have F-14’s that we sold them in the 1970’s but they lack parts to keep them flying.
WTF? Of the 80 Tomcats, 79 were delivered. The one (1) impounded sat for years in storage at AMARC, then was pressed into service as an Adversary.
They probably want the Kidd Class DDGs back too. Good luck to them on that, because they’re part of the Taiwanese Navy now.
Risible.
The Runt Rodent of iRan was instrumental in the criminal trespass on American soil, the US Embassy in Tehran, and the kidnap and torture of the American Embassy staff for 444 days.
I hope the agency responsible for dealing military hardware turns a deaf ear to the Ranting Runt Rodent.
Depending on what they have at Davis-Monthan, they should take 80 planes, chop them up in tiny pieces and send them over with a note that says “some assembly required.”
Come and take them!
molan labe
molan labe
Yes, the Shah bought 80 of them, as I recall - it actually was vital to keeping the program going at the time - and all but a few (6 or 8) actually were delivered to Iran. The contract also entailed, as I understand, help in the training of the pilots. But with the advent of the Khomeni regime, and its hostility to the US, the last few of them were never delivered and were eventually used by the US Navy. No F-14s have been flown by the USN for years now, and for want of spare parts, it seems unlikely that the Iranian Air Force could do so now. They used them against Saddam Hussain's Iraq, but that certainly caused wear and attrition, and they were used mostly as radar platforms, reportedly.
We will deliver them to the government that purchased them.
I went on to Mtn. Home AFB, and in 1980 we mustered every flying F-111A (only about 30 out of 100 were flyable thanks to President Peanut and his military budget cuts) we could and sent then to our alternate deployed base in Turkey. We were never told why the sudden urgency to deploy these aircraft, until 24 hours later we heard of the tragedy at Desert One.
Iran: “The US is the Great Satan, the US is the Great Satan, the US is the Great Satan, we want our bombers back, the US is the Great Satan..., “
Yep, good ole President Peanut. I was in the Med on the Saratoga during the time Qaddafi decided to extend the coastal claims of Libya to the waters where American naval maneuvers were conducted. The entire Gulf of Sidra, extended up to one hundred miles from Libya’s coast, and it was proclaimed by Qaddafi to be Libyan water, off limits to our forces. The Carter government meekly rescheduled our maneuvers to stay outside of the disputed area, ordering us to not cross Qaddafi’s line. True to form, Carter failed to confront Qaddafi over the issue even after a siege on the American embassy in Tripoli in 1979.
Prior to the 1980 election an Admiral called all the sailors to the flight deck where he gave a speech on how important it was to vote for a President that would stand up for the military. I can’t remember if he actually used Reagan’s name, but we all knew he was not talking about the peanut farmer. I’m not sure he was supposed to do this, but I’m so glad he did, because I proudly voted for Ronald Reagan, and was the first in my family to vote for a Republican.
Within months after taking office, Ronald Reagan took a stand. He made it clear that American maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra would proceed.
Anticipating trouble, Reagan was asked by the Joint Chiefs what American pilots do if attacked? Would Reagan’s orders allow for “hot pursuit”? Reagan’s answer – “All the way into the hanger.” You know the rest of the story.
Sorry guys. Your order was voided when you decided to take the Embassy for collateral.
At the same time there was a fairly large program training Iranian AF air traffic controllers. They went through the same technical school at Keesler AFB as USAF trainees. They would then be assigned to an AFB for training in a Radar Approach Control (RAPCON). Some were good, some were not. Many had problems with language, especially technical English terms.
Can we send ‘em a bunch of Revell model airplane kits...
You have to wonder how many are still alive. The Dean of my Engineering School spent the '70's doing water projects throughout Iran. He stated once that everyone trained by him was either missing or dead.
Here is three of them flying in Iran last year. Delivered during the 1970s.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-—Air/Grumman-F-14A-Tomcat/1702726/L/
Not quite. You can see at least 12 F-14s bringing up the rear in this 2008 flypast.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-—Air/Mikoyan-Gurevich-MiG-29UB-(9-51)/1349418/L/
Recent IRIAF footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_3jLuW03L0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMbPRcpVMEw
They also do extremely well with their other US fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jrYSh3IzTY
I think a little bit lost in translation. The Iranians do use their F-14 (Like the US did) to drop bombs.
IRIAF F-14 bomb loading/loaded footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbHRPsrH_k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_aZ7qSg0NY
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.