Cuban MiG-21bis to NK

[V41LEY]

This is a very curious story and sending them to NK for 'repair' is laughable !
The Press keeps saying the planes are obsolete but the IAF are still flying them until 2018.

[hidetheelephants]

MIG21s were obsolete by the end of the cold war; anything Cuba are binning will be fit for making Bacofoil with only. In the unlikely event of them getting into the air NK will have a fuel hog with short range and pisspoor avionics, the only vague bright spot being the AA8s it might be carrying. The ROKAF have F15 and F16 backed up by 737 AEWC, so any NK aircraft in the air are going to be toast in short order if it kicks off, never mind whatever the US has in theatre.

[Eric Mc]

I wonder was it going top an NK museum?

[maffski]

Why is it laughable? Cuba can't replace them due to the arms embargo. It probably doesn't have the skills, or the components to refurbish them, North Korea does (the border with China will certainly be porous enough for anything they need).

A jet like this will be useless against almost any attacker; but having a couple of jets flying overhead on the state parade sends a message to your own people about who is in control. Watch any American sporting event and it will start with a flypast - not just major events but every NFL match, every NASCAR race. Presumably they are still trying to figure out how to do it at NBA Basketball games.

[Popeyed]

The container that the missiles were stowed in had its roof stoved in; whoever did the stowplan on this ship did not have a clue about spreading the weight.

[Ayahuasca]

It is strange, Cuba has a few Mig 29s so not sure why it is bothering with the 21s. Maybe its their version of the BBMF?

[hidetheelephants]

Popeyed said:

The container that the missiles were stowed in had its roof stoved in; whoever did the stowplan on this ship did not have a clue about spreading the weight.

The container seems to have been hidden under a cargo of bagged grain or sugar, so safe stowage protocols may have taken a back seat!