Feel good story of the day.

I was forwarded this German article by Stefan Metzeler, and google translated it, so please be patient with the stiff wording.

UPDATE: Vlad had his translator get a hold of it and now there is a better version available.

Iran fires on its own aircraft

An original translation by Michael Laudahn:

For the case of a war against Israel, the iranian leadership always pretends to be confident of victory.  However, according to US secret services, they are so nervous that their troups commit gross errors.

During a major manoeuvre in september 2009, an iranian army priest stands before an S-200 surface-to-air missile. Unfortunately, iranian planes have the tendency to crash at certain intervals. The principal reason for the many accidents is the shortage of spare parts, which cannot be procured, due to the international economic sanctions. According to US secret service intelligence, in recent years an additional source of danger started coming forth: their own air raid defences. According to the New York Times  which possesses the secret Pentagon document on ‘Operational Mishaps by [iranian] Air Defense Units’, in 2007 Tehran was haunted by the fear of a military strike.

In september, Israel’s air force had bombed a semi-operational nuclear reactor in Syria and held major manoeuvres above the Mediterranean Sea. Observers speculated about an imminent attack against the iranian Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Consequently scared, iranian air raid defences apparently started to shoot at whatever moved. Assuming that Israel’s fighter jets would camouflage as civil airplanes, in june 2007 a revolutionary guard unit fired a surface-to-air missile against a commercial airliner.

In may 2008, anti aircraft batteries fired at an iranian reconnaissance drone, a commercial plane and even one of their own F-14 fighter planes. In june 2008, an F-4 interceptor fighter ascended to inspect a suspicious object. As it turned out, it was an Iraqi Airways plane on its way from Bagdad to Tehran. These incidents can apparently only in parts be traced back to the Tehran leadership’s heightened nervousness.

The quality of air surveillance, transmission [of data] and education in the iranian army is so low that more such errors can be expected, according to the Pentagon’s report. The incidents do not lack a sad irony: On 3 july 1988 over the Persian Gulf, the US Navy shot down an iranian commercial airliner on its way to Dubai. All 290 people aboard were killed. Fatally enough, the [vessel’s] crew had identified the Airbus A300 as an iranian F-14 fighter jet. According to a report printed in the spanish newspaper ABC, the iranian army attempts to prepare for an attack using other, similarly desperate methods.

Assuming that Israel’s air force will use its F-16 fighter planes, it is said that venezuelan state chief Hugo Chávez in 2006 made available an F-16 for his iranian allies. The plane was completely disassembled and flewn in boxes to Iran.

There, it was reassembled, so that the iranian air raid defences could adapt to this type of fighter jet. As noted then by Israel’s daily newspaper Haaretz, the venezuelan F-16 are outdated models acquired by that country prior to Chávez’ arrival in power. If these have much in common with the israeli air force’s F-16 is doubtful.

NOTE: Original in German.