>> Hyva pointti, toisaalta onko 1991-sodan aikana Irakista Iraniin (huh!) paenneita koneita massiivisesti palautettu Irakiin? Ei ole. Irakilaiset luottavat iranilaisiin yhta paljon kuin espoolainen luottaa tv-lupatarkastajaan... paskaa kateen jo kerta! Tassa jotain infoa koneista jotka katosivat eivatka enaa nakyneet Baghdadin lahestymistutkassa ikina:
Over the course of several weeks, some 115 Iraqi warplanes were able to successfully escape to Iran. These included
An additional 15
Ilyushin Il-76s, 17 civilian airliners, and perhaps 2 Adnan I airborne early warning aircraft (based on the Russian
A-50) also fled to Iran.
Once the war had ended, Iraq of course attempted to recover its planes, but Iran was in no mood to return such advanced war materiel to a nation it had fought a long and bloody war against just a few short years before. Iran has claimed a staggering $1 trillion in reparations for damages suffered during that conflict, and has thus far refused to return the aircraft until its demands are met. Even today, over ten years later, the planes remain in Iran. As Saddam Hussein said in a speech on 8 August 2000,
"We erred in thinking that Iran was no longer an enemy of Iraq when we sent 115 of our aircraft there. Iran's behavior is unprecedented. It refuses peaceful relations, in spite of all our peaceful initiatives."
So what has happened to all the Iraqi planes? While most remain stored in Iranian warehouses, a large number were put back into service in the Iranian Air Force. In particular, the 24 Su-24s were formed into a new squadron, repainted in Iranian markings, given new serial numbers, and even used to bomb Iraqi islands and border areas. The 4 advanced MiG-29s were also absorbed into a squadron with 20 additional models purchased from Russia in the early 1990s. While the 7 MiG-25s and 24 Mirage F.1s are also believed to be active, they are seldom used. Meanwhile, the old and obsolete Su-20s, Su-22s, and MiG-23s were not worth the maintenance and training costs and were placed in storage.
