Tue, Mar 30, 2004
Ukraine Confirms Several Missiles Missing
Where did they go? The
Ukrainian defense minister says hundreds of SAM missiles are
missing from his country's arsenal and he has no clue as to where
those pesky things have gotten off to.
"We are looking for several hundred missiles," said Defense
Minister Yevhen Marchuk, in an interview published in the newspaper
Den. "They have already been decommissioned, but we cannot find
them."
While Marchuk wouldn't specify just which missiles were missing,
a defense ministry spokesman said they're S-75s -- better known in
the west as SA-2s.
Hundreds of those missiles were taken from former republics of
the disintegrated Soviet Union to the Ukraine for destruction. But
no one can say for sure what happened to them because they're --
well, missing.
Where they went, who might have taken them and why they're gone
are all unanswered questions at this point. But if money is any
indication (and it often is), consider this: The value of the
missing missiles and other military equipment that was supposed to
have been destroyed at the end of the Cold War stands at about $189
billion. That's in the Ukraine alone. The entire defense budget of
the Ukraine amounts to around $10 billion a year.
Marchuk blames those who served as defense minister before him.
"They say they were destroyed. Okay, destroyed," he said. "Every
such missile has gold, silver, platinum metals. Where are the
results of their destruction?"
Marchuk said that when he became minister, "no one knew what the
armed forces had," and after nine months in the job he still
doesn't have precise information.
More News
Chaff Thin, narrow metallic reflectors of various lengths and frequency responses, used to reflect radar energy. These reflectors, when dropped from aircraft and allowed to drift d>[...]
“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947. I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding>[...]
“Teaming up with the EAA and Berlin Express for this event in Cincinnati will give warbird fans a unique opportunity to see the aircraft that helped defend freedom and gave t>[...]
Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]
Aero Linx: The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission was created by the 1935 Legislature to oversee the development of aviation in the state. The Comm>[...]