Like you I would wonder about how well Chavez's F-16s would work...

Isn't Iran the only nation (other than the US) to have the F-14 in their arsenal? (Well... The US did until recently...)

I seem to remember the most of the Iranian F-14 were being scavanged for parts since we embargoed them. I wonder if any are still flying?

Spare parts would be my bet too.

BTW, isn't it about time we organized a massive blogger led boycott of CITGO?

Few, if any, of the Shah-era F-14As are still flying. The U.S. Navy is about to retire the last squadron of F-14Ds. If any of the old Tomcats are still flying, the shortage of spare parts probably keeps the pilots from getting much stick time.

And I think the mechanics/engineers took some of the more interesting parts of the F-14s with them when they left after the Shah fell.
Isn't there usually a clause in the contract when we sell stuff to other countries, that they don't then turn around and resell them? I wonder what the penalty clause would be. . .

Be interesting to see how Venezuela delivers the planes. It would be a shame if a container ship carrying the falcons were to mysteriously founder and sink in the Indian ocean.

Meh. One F-22 Raptor could smoke the lot of those F-16's without ever being seen, were we to go that route. Not to mention the most advanced F-15's. An order of magnitude in advantage.

Chavez has no spare parts, we won't sell him spare parts and the only other possible supplier is Israel. We won't let them sell Chavez spare parts.

If Chavez, could illegally sell them to Iran. There is the problem of shipping the planes to Iran. Might have 'difficulties' getting around the US Navy.

Same problem exists for the other buyers.

So who is the paper tiger now, beyatch?

Why exactly would the Iranians buy a bunch of planes it couldn't get off the ground?