Wed, Sep 02, 2009
They Had Been Sent To Yugoslavia 20 Years Ago By Saddam
Hussein
19 Soviet-built MiG 21's and MiG 23's sent to the former
Yugoslavia for maintenance 20 years ago by Saddam Hussein have been
uncovered by the Iraqi defense ministry. But the jets are mostly
cannibalized and abandoned, and are unlikely to fly again anytime
soon, if ever, Serbian officials say.
MiG 21 File Photo
Hussein had sent the jets to what is now Serbia in 1989, and
they were caught up in the embargo that was put in place against
Iraq in 1990 following that country's invasion of Kuwait.
According to Serbian officials, only two or three of the
aircraft are still "in one piece". The Australian Courier Mail
reports one was stored in Belgrade's Air Museum.
An Iraqi delegation uncovered the planes while in Belgrade last
week to close a small arms deal with Serbia. They said they found
the planes while trying to trace what Saddam had done with the
country's military assets. These planes had apparently been shipped
to what is now Croatia, but when war broke out there, they were
sent to Belgrade mostly in parts, where they languished.
MiG 23 File Photo
Iraqi defense officials are particularly interested in the
aircraft, saying they hope they can be part of a new Iraqi Air
Force as coalition troops withdraw over the next two years.
But Lt. Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the Multi-National
Transition and Security Command-Iraq, said the planes would likely
be of little use, as Iraq would have to establish a supply chain,
train pilots, and attempt to find spare parts for the Soviet-era
aircraft. Iraq has made a request, as yet unapproved, to buy U.S.
built F-16s.
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