Image source: Photo: Yuri Lyamin's blog
Previously unknown facts about the early days of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran are surfacing. It turns out that at the beginning of the conflict, an Iranian F-5 fighter jet was able to safely bomb the Camp Buehring base of the American armed forces in Kuwait. This was reported by NBC.
Despite the fact that an important military facility for the Pentagon was seriously covered by air defense systems, they missed the strike.
Image source: Photo: Yuri Lyamin's blog
Now it is clear why the Kuwaiti pilot on the F/A-18 began indiscriminately "knocking down" everything that was seen in the air. As a result, the ACE destroyed three overseas F-15E Strike Eagle fighters.
On the day when this case of "friendly fire" was recorded, the author made assumptions that the pilot from Kuwait mistook the "Shock Eagles" for MiG-29 or F-14 Tomcat.
It turned out that the Iranian plane was actually there. And, it can be assumed that not the usual old American-made F-5F Tiger II, but an upgraded version produced in Iran, the HESA Saeqeh ("Lightning Strike"), which outwardly differs from the original with a twin-fin tail. Its maximum take-off weight is 9,000 kg. Combat load - 2180 kg. It can carry air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. There are two 20 mm M39A2 automatic cannons (280 rounds each).
Image source: Photo: Yuri Lyamin's blog
The speed is 1700 km / h. The flight range is 3000 km. The practical ceiling is 16,000 m. There is a single version and a double version - Saeqeh-2. Apparently, several dozen have been released. However, they cannot compete on equal terms with modern American and Israeli aircraft, but they are quite suitable for strikes against ground targets, which has been demonstrated.
We must pay tribute to the courage and professionalism of the pilot, who successfully completed the task in such extreme conditions. Recall that two front-line Su-24MK bombers of the Iranian Air Force were shot down by Qatari F-15s when they tried to strike the Al-Udeid airbase, where the US military was also stationed. Unfortunately, the pilots of these "bombers" died.
Image source: Photo: Yuri Lyamin's blog
Perhaps the Iranian media will soon tell in more detail about the feat of their pilot, who was able to bomb an American facility. It's hard to remember now, but it probably hasn't happened since the end of World War II.
Alexey Brusilov
