Where have they been getting parts? Export controls don’t allow for after market parts to be sold to countries like Iran..
>>Where have they been getting parts? Export controls don’t allow for after market parts to be sold to countries like Iran.<<
The way Cuba gets auto parts I guess — string, bailing wire, etc. You wouldn’t think that would work on a high-performance jet but you wouldn’t think a car could run on a motor transplanted from an air conditioner either.
The jets haven’t been tested in combat since the hostage crisis. I suspect a stiff breeze would knock them down.
IIRC, then-SOD Cheney ordered Grumman to destroy the tooling, too.