China may also have provided Iran with a long-range early-warning radar that spots stealth aircraft meant to evade detection, people familiar with the matter tell NBC News
The F-15 fighter that was shot down over southwestern Iran last month and set off a dangerous rescue mission was probably struck by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, three people with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
In the early days of the conflict, China also may have provided Iran with a long-range early-warning radar that spots stealth aircraft that are meant to evade detection, according to one of the people and a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter.
U.S. officials are still investigating the circumstances around the shootdown of the American F-15E Strike Eagle in April, the sources said. It was the first time in decades that a U.S. fighter was downed by enemy fire.
…and…?
This isn’t even a terribly interesting AAM. It was a short range IR MANPAD.
Yeah exactly. It’s not like we thought Iran had an advanced AA platform developed and produced domestically. Ever since we stopped selling them F-14 replace parts five decades ago, they’ve been buying Russian and Chinese hardware.
The real interesting question is how that jet made it through preflight with a bay door malfunctioning so badly that it wouldn’t close after a single use.
There are no models of the F-15 made or flown by any country that have internal weapons stores
Wasn’t a munitions bay, it was the rear landing gear bay. There are a bunch of reports about this, not really something one could make up.