You find crazy stuff in the desert Mig-25 Foxbat | FerrariChat

You find crazy stuff in the desert Mig-25 Foxbat

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by lionsfan54, Mar 5, 2004.

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  1. lionsfan54

    lionsfan54 Karting

    Nov 7, 2003
    113
    #1 lionsfan54, Mar 5, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Granted, the -25 was "advanced" in 1975, but still a cool story.. if true.


    The Iraqi jet, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat, was found buried in
    the sand after an informant tipped off U.S. troops.

    The MiG was dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqqadum airfield by U.S. Air Force recovery teams. The MiG was reportedly one of over two dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sand, like hidden treasure, waiting to be recovered at a later date.

    Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found were from the Gulf War era.

    The Russian-made MiG-25 Foxbat being recovered by U.S. Air Force troops in the photos is an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the West and is equipped with sophisticated electronic warfare devices.

    U.S. Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth-moving equipment to uncover the MiG, which is over 70 feet long and weighs nearly 25 tons.

    The Foxbat is known to be one of Iraq's top jet fighters. The advanced electronic reconnaissance version found by the U.S. Air Force is currently in service with the Russian air force. The MiG is capable of flying at speeds of over 2,000 miles an hour, or three times the speed of sound, and at altitudes of over 75,000 feet.

    The recovery of the advanced MiG fighter is considered to be an intelligence coup by the U.S. Air Force.. The Foxbat may also be equipped with advanced Russian- and French-made electronics that were sold to Iraq during the 1990s in violation of a U..N. ban on arms sales to Baghdad.

    The buried aircraft at Al Taqqadum were covered in camouflage netting, sealed and, in many cases, had their wings removed before being buried more than 10 feet beneath the Iraqi desert.

    X Marks the Spot

    The discovery of the buried Iraqi jet fighters illustrates the problem faced by U.S. inspection teams searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq is larger in size than California, and the massive deserts south and west of Baghdad were used by Saddam Hussein to hide weapons during the first Gulf war.

    U.S. intelligence sources have already uncovered several mass grave burial sites in the open deserts with an estimated 10,000 dead hidden there. In addition, Iraq previously hid SCUD missiles, chemical weapons and biological warheads by burying them under the desert sand. U.N. inspection teams found the weapons in the early 1990s after detailed information of the exact locations was obtained.

    Top U.S. weapons inspector Dr. David Kay is known to favor human intelligence as the primary means to find Iraq's hidden treasure trove of weapons and secrets.

    While there are rumors of Iraqi chemical and biological weapons being shipped to nearby Syria, the weapons may very well still remain inside Iraq buried under the vast desert wastelands.

    Some critics of the Bush administration have claimed that the inability of U.S.. forces to uncover weapons of mass destruction is proof that the president misled the nation into the war with Iraq.

    However, in recent days the critics have fallen silent as word quietly leaked from Iraq that major discoveries have already been made and are now being documented completely. Bush administration officials are keeping any such discoveries secret for the moment.
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  2. JSinNOLA

    JSinNOLA F1 World Champ
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    Mar 18, 2002
    18,776
    Denver, CO
    GREAT POST!

    These types of discoveries will really help Bush's arguements. I am sure Kerry's team is shaken up by this.
    :D
     
  3. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
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    Randall
    It would be even better if they had any proof as to when or why it was buried. But I do love reading repeated articles that say "it might have this" or "may have that", shows how pointless the article really is.
     
  4. aventino

    aventino Formula Junior

    Jun 16, 2003
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    Hong Kong
    Full Name:
    David L
    To even suggest that the ancient Migs might have been upgraded with French or Russian hardware is a joke. They make it sound like you unplug the ciggie lighter and plug in your Garmin GPS and hey presto, lookout the US Air Force. Talk about clutching at straws.

    So they invade Iraq and don't even look at Haiti, when preaching about democracy (lord knows we've heard enough of it) the Bush administration appears to be selective.

    And would someone please explain what is the point in digging the aircraft up again in the first place? So they can chop them up more and rebury them perhaps? A pointless exercise, costing a lot of time and money, much like?
     
  5. Santini

    Santini Formula Junior

    Oct 1, 2003
    480
    North Carolina
    "waiting to be recovered at a later date"?? For what? That jet is toast. It'll never fly again.
     
  6. lionsfan54

    lionsfan54 Karting

    Nov 7, 2003
    113
    I know, the article itself is very suspect. But the idea behind it is intriguing. If they can hide a jet like that what else can be hidden?

    I also agree that it's stupid to assume it's been upgraded. But who knows?

    All in all the -25 was a cool plane for what it could do, haul ass.
     
  7. beast

    beast F1 World Champ

    May 31, 2003
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    Rob Guess
    I have seen those pictures floating around the last few months so this is not a recent find.
     
  8. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 17, 2001
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    Joe Mansion
    Very useful...I guess the iraquis have a secret method to pull them out in 2sec when under attack !
     
  9. Slim

    Slim Formula 3

    Oct 11, 2001
    1,735
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    richard
    Those pictures were first posted here almost a year ago, and discussed then.

    Perhaps such discoveries might have help Bush's claim that he went to war because of massive dangerous weapons poised to attack us, but since no (or few) such discoveries have been made, it's a moot point.
     
  10. Artherd

    Artherd F1 Veteran

    Jun 19, 2002
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    Ben Cannon
    You're going to have to do a lot better than one old non-flyable conventional Jet, Bushy!
     
  11. RacerX_GTO

    RacerX_GTO F1 World Champ
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    Nov 2, 2003
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    Gabe V.
    Another violation of the UN sanction... what else is burried out there?
     
  12. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
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    Portsmouth, VA
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    Randall

    Is it a violation? Of which sanction? You'd have to know when the jet was disposed of. If it's been buried for a long time, then it could have been buried when the UN sanctions were made. The idea that you could just dig it up, dust it off and fly it is something only a fool could believe.

    This is a pathetic grasp for anything, since the WMD's never showed up as some hoped they would.
     
  13. SefacHotRodder

    SefacHotRodder F1 World Champ

    Dec 20, 2003
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    Chris
    saw that a while ago. Pretty cool
     
  14. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Apr 3, 2001
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    Austin, TX
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    Randy
    too cool. I remember building a few models of the foxbat as a kid.
     
  15. Jason W

    Jason W Formula Junior
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    Oct 31, 2003
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    Singapore
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    Jason
    This happened months ago. I posted a link to the news article on the old board, but wasn't able to find the thread.
     

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