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not so far from fiction given that Venezuela shipped the ones they had to Iran

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IIAF purchases 160 F-16A on October 27th 1976 with follow up order of additional 140, A total of 300 aircraft. Parts and maintenance equipment has arrived in Iran as early as 1978 and ground personnel had been given training, (Ground support equipment was later sold to Pakistan). However, new Government cancelled the order in 1979 before the schedule arrival of the first two F-16, later this cancellation effected the unit cost of each aircraft to a much higher price tag. But General Dynamics found a new buyer for Iranian

F-16's, which was Israel's air force.

iiaf.jpg

An artist's rendition of Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) F-16 fighter plane which in fact did not join the air force fleet because of the 1979 revolution. The plane is shown flying over a Zoroastrian landmark.

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not so far from fiction given that Venezuela shipped the ones they had to Iran

 

 

Uh...what? :blink:

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Combat use of Venezuela kites >

On 27 November 1992, two Venezuelan F-16s took part in the November Venezuelan Coup Attempt on the side of the government. In particular, the two F-16As strafed targets on the ground and shot down two OV-10 Broncos with AIM-9Ps and one AT-27 Tucano with cannon fire as these rebel-flown aircraft attacked loyalist army positions.

 

Starting in 1997, a series of programs were implemented, aimed at fielding the LITENING laser designator and infrared navigation pod produced by Rafael in Israel; to replace the Litton AN/ALR-69 radar warning receiver with an enhanced Elisra SPS-2000 RWR also from Israel as well as installing the Litton LN-93 ring laser gyro. The Litening pod provided the FAV with a capability to use precision-guided munitions, such as the 500-pound GBU-12 and 1,000-pound GBU-10 laser-guided bombs and other PGM of Israeli manufacture that are now part of FAV's inventory. In a similar manner, Grupo 16 also acquired night vision capability for its F-16s, which encompassed installing cockpit and external lighting that is fully compatible with night vision goggles. FAV F-16`s were also updated to receive the Lima version of the Sidewinder missile to be used along the AIM-9P already in service. Another major program was the refurbishment of the F100-PW-200 engines to bring them up to PW-220E standard.

 

The Litening pod and the NVG capability of the FAV F-16s account for the F-16s being called into night action to counter illegal border incursions and illegal incursions into Venezuelan air space. In the latter missions, the infrared capabilities of the Litening pod, designed primarily for air-to-ground use, provided the FAV with a useful instrument in the air-to-air regime as well because the system aids nighttime intercepts.

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f16fn_12.jpg

 

Nevertheless, if Venezuela is "able" to sell the planes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime in Iran, they will sold 21 planes which will rapidly become a world-class maintenance and logistical headache for their new owners. For instance, none of Iran's planes currently in service use the Pratt and Whitney F100 engine that the Venezuelan planes use. Nor does Iran have any aircraft that use the APG-66 radar on the F-16A. Iran could use rear-aspect Sidewinders from its F-5 force, along with 20mm cannon ammo from its force of F-4s, but when something on the airplane breaks, Iran will have to ground some planes for parts, and that means that 21 F-16s will quickly drop to a much lower figure – as past experience with Iran's force of F-5s, F-4s, and F-14s has shown. Venezuela could send over what spare parts and missiles (including older all-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinders), but the missiles will have a finite shelf life. Expired missiles are generally unhealthy for people who try to use them.

Edited by starfighter2

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Let's not forget that Iran was going to buy F-16s back in the '70s under the Shah, but the order was cancelled after the Revolution. Ironically, some of that order then went to Israel.

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