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Hellfire Missile Mistakenly Shipped To Cuba
HughPickens.com writes: NPR reports that a Hellfire missile that was supposedly shipped to Europe for military exercises in 2014 somehow ended up in Cuba. It's still a mystery as to how the missile reached Cuba but the incident has "confounded investigators and experts who work in a regulatory system designed to prevent precisely such equipment from falling into the wrong hands." According to sources, Lockheed Martin sent the missile to Europe for a NATO training exercise — and on its return, it ended up on a plane to Havana, where it was impounded. A US government official familiar with the situation calls it a "dummy" missile that lacks a warhead or guidance system. Originally designed to be launched from helicopters, Hellfire missiles have also been used to arm drone aircraft in recent years — one was credited with killing "Jihadi John" in a US operation. Since the missile arrived in Cuba in 2014, U.S. requests for its return have gone unheeded.
It'd still be quite interesting to have a look at that missile. Even really basic things like hinges and reinforcement hull struts might give you ideas how to improve other missiles.
Not that they necessarily are better but being able to look at how other people solved problems and compare them with your own solution has always been one of my favorite ways to gain knowledge.
Wall Street Journal seems to know. Sub-Sub-Sub-Contractor mix-up it seems.
The people familiar with the case said the missile was sent to Spain and used in the military exercise. But for reasons that are still unclear, after it was packed up, it began a roundabout trip through Europe, was loaded onto a truck and eventually sent to Germany.
The missile was packaged in Rota, Spain, a U.S. official said, where it was put into the truck belonging to another freight-shipping firm, known by officials who track such cargo as a “freight forwarder.” That trucking company released the missile to yet another shipping firm that was supposed to put the missile on a flight originating in Madrid. That flight was headed to Frankfurt, Germany, before it was to be placed on another flight bound for Florida.
At some point, officials loading the first flight realized the missile it expected to be loading onto the aircraft wasn’t among the cargo, the government official said. After tracing the cargo, officials realized that the missile had been loaded onto a truck operated by Air France, which took the missile to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. There, it was loaded onto a “mixed pallet” of cargo and placed on an Air France flight. By the time the freight-forwarding firm in Madrid tracked down the missile, it was on the Air France flight, headed to Havana.
Attempts to reach Air France were unsuccessful.
What's sad is there are people who think Cuba is a legitimate threat. I am not a qualified political scientist but I have been to Cuba twice and enjoyed my visits. I'm also fairly familiar with Cuban history - as mentioned in a previous post, I'm quasi-fluent in Spanish which means I do well enough when I go. I'm also probably going to go back if I can get the missus her passport before I end up going back home - probably just for a week visit. I like it there.
There is zero chance, in my non-professional opinion, of Cuba doing fuck-all with this. I'd trust Cuba with nukes. Seriously, I'd trust them with nukes. All they want, from what I can tell, is to be mostly left alone and to get fair prices for their sugar and cigars as well as being able to access some modern media more easily. They know where they live. They know what the world is like. There's no major underground rebellion forming/formed to oust Raul, Fidel has to be near 90 now, and they don't live in the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea - they know what the world is like and are seemingly pretty damned happy where they are.
There is, literally, not one iota of worry about this. I'd expect them, if they have it, to simply offer the damned thing back. Just giving it back would be great diplomacy and be a rather nice gesture to make. Kind of like being the bigger man type of deal. It's Cuba... They're not dangerous or anything. If you get the chance to visit then go. Jump on it, don't wait to be asked twice. Just go. It's absolutely fantastic and the people there are some of the most realistic, genuine, decent folks on the planet.
I've been all over the place and, really, I'd probably consider moving there if they'd have me. I never looked into it as I assume they don't want me. I'm retired and all and I've got plenty of money but I think that would be why they wouldn't want me. I can understand and respect that. Still, it's one of the most enjoyable places that I've ever gone to, and that's saying something because the agent lied (or was mistaken) and I did not, in fact, have any 'net access at all at the hotel and absolutely no connectivity with my phone the last time I went. Yeah, I had no 'net and still enjoyed myself immensely.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."