F-16 Engines Stolen From Israeli Air Base 346
Hugh Pickens writes "Defense Tech reports that several F-16 engines weighing 3,700 pounds each have been stolen from a base in a central part of the country. Israeli officials played down the loss, saying the engines were old or retired and likely stolen for scrap. U.S. security and aviation experts contacted were not so dismissive of the missing engines and said that some countries would see value in having them and taking them apart. 'They're still more modern than anything in the Iranian air force inventory, and they would even be helpful to China in their jet engine development,' says Richard Aboulafia, noting that modern technology engine design remains 'a black art' and that competitors would love the opportunity to study them. This is not the first time jet engines have gone missing. In June 2011, Israel reported the loss of eight F-15 and F-16 fighter engines from a base at Tel Nof near Jerusalem when investigators found the engines had been taken away on large trucks, prompting speculation that the thieves had help from inside the base. In 2009, two F-5 engines were stolen from an airbase in Malaysia, tracked to Argentina and ultimately located in Uruguay."
how about a warning first? (Score:1, Interesting)
I'd like to know if I'm clicking on Wikileaks before I click, asshole. Most of you might not care, but some people do.
( yeah yeah... should have looked at the url before clicking... I know )
Re:Prime suspects (Score:4, Interesting)
The military has the engines.
Private companies (no direct access) may want to manufacture something similar.
Re:Design or buy off the black market? (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot easier and cheaper to do R&D with a working prototype in hand.
And it wouldn't be the first time Israel disappeared some foreign manufactured equipment to get it "off the books" only to come up with some derivative internal products later. In fact, they have concentrated on making major components [globes.co.il] for foreign purchased platforms for years, rather than building new platforms from scratch. Most of their tech is derivative work.
It seems just as likely, given Israel's apparent lack of concern over these thefts, that they know exactly where these engines are.
Re:Hypocrisy... (Score:5, Interesting)
I think there is a difference between the info wikileaks was leaking (info on past events), and technical data for currently used devices. I would say that if wikileaks were to release plans to the engine in the P51 I wouldn't car at all. It is no longer in use, as it has been replaced by newer tech. I'm willing to bet that there is not a substantial difference between the F16 engine, and the F22/F35 ones.
I wonder how long it would take to engineer and build a jet engine with the info available on the internet about jet engines and various design issues, for example, keeping the inlet air at below super-sonic speeds while the aircraft is flying at supersonic speeds. There was an article on /. a while back about that, and I believe it included basic solution.
Re:Stolen to order (Score:5, Interesting)
China doesn't need to get old F-16 engines from Israel. They already got their hands on some F-16s from Pakistan several years back. This is well known knowledge.
China has the capability to manufacture relatively modern jet engines. One example is the WS-10A engine they use in their J-15 carrier jet instead of the standard AL-31F engine used in the Su-27. The J-31 uses smaller WS-13 engines, also used in the JF-17 they sell to Pakistan, which is based on the Mig-29 RD-33 engine. They had several production problems namely in FADEC, turbine blade reliability and production capacity but it seems they have solved them. Otherwise they wouldn't be testing airplanes powered with their own engines on their carrier.
Re:www.FoxNews.com (Score:5, Interesting)
Read it. Learn it. Live it. This website will provide you with all the facts and tools you need to solidly refute any socialist debaters who argue we should all be provided government entitlements and destroy wealth by stealing it and handing it out to the underclass. Educate yourself, and those around you. Our way of life depends on it.
Your post is a perfect example of Poe's law. [wikipedia.org] I cannot tell at all whether you are parodying a fundamentalist, or are actually a fundamentalist. Congratulations!
Re:www.FoxNews.com (Score:5, Interesting)
stealing it and handing it out to the underclass
Pitting members of the proletariat against one another is a technique known as 'divide and rule', or in this case, 'divide and rule by thieving kleptocrats' .. the basic idea is that if you, say, have two neighbors and you can keep them bickering against one and blaming one another for everything that goes wrong, they won't notice while you rob both their houses (and will blame one another). Well done for playing your part like a good little pawn *pats head*.
The more phony divisions you sew, the better - e.g. pit old vs young (e.g. tell the older generation they're poor because the younger generation is eating Social Security and tell the younger generation they're poor because the older generation are living high off the hog off their labor ... meanwhile both feel poor because you are robbing them both blind, but they will instead bicker and blame one another ... it helps if you can deliberately construct a convoluted robbery system in which there's just enough of a grain of truth both ways for it to seem plausible, e.g. pyramid-scheme-based retirement funds or government debt).
The only "divide" in the country should be that between the moral and the immoral, between thieves and honest folk.