What's the most modern American/Western aircraft to be captured or displayed by Russia, China or some non Western country?

Posted by Outrageous-Score7936@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 27 comments

Would it be the RQ-170 captured by Iran in 2011.

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Bushelsoflaughs@reddit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

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ti36xamateur@reddit

I remember that. My dad, Cobra pilot before they retired them, was telling me the procedure if he had to land in enemy territory. Everything had a priority in order of destruction.

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GITS75@reddit

1999 the F-117 who was shot down over Serbia .. And wreckage exposed at the Museum of Aviation in Beograd.

2001 EP-3 who collided with a J-8 in South China Sea... And was forced to land in Hainan.

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kungming2@reddit

Yep, it was returned in crates and is now at the Pima museum.

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As a side note, as someone who lives on the other side of the planet, I will forever cherish my memories of being able to visit the Pima Air and Space museum some years ago (I still have an "Area 51" warning sign I got as a souvenir on my office door).

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GITS75@reddit

Disassembled and returned to the US months later. But PRC had hands on sensitive equipment and classified Intels as the crew wasn't able to destroy them all.

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QuillsROptional@reddit

The P-3 first flew in 1959, so it's not exactly a modern aircraft.

(Even if the electronics of the planes definitly isn't from the 50s/60s)

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Significant-Pen-2274@reddit

Im pretty sure the USSR has at least gotten to inspect Iran’s F-14s

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Affectionate_One_700@reddit

Briefly, before Tom Cruise retrieved them.

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dvornik16@reddit

F-4, F-5E, F-111, and A-37 had been captured and transferred to the USSR during the Vietnam war. A RQ-170 Sentinel drone was captured by Iran in 2011. RQ-4 and RQ-9 drones were downed by Iran and Russia, respectively, but it is unclear what happened to the wreckage.

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BlowFish-w-o-Hootie@reddit

Not “captured.” The airplanes were Crashed and the wreckage my have been transferred.

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dvornik16@reddit

This is not true. Taken apart F5E is on display in Moscow Aviation Institute. Most of these planes were captured from the South Vietnam Air Force after the government collapse and US forces retreat.

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beachsand83@reddit

The F-4s F-111s and A-37 were downed and parts of them made their way to the Soviet Union. Later variants of sidewinder than the AIM-9B were also copied (R-13M, R-13M1). They also made a copy of the sparrow but it lost to the R-23 missile.

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dvornik16@reddit

Dude, VPAF had like 50+ operational A-37, as well some C-47s, some copters, and older aircrafts. If Soviets were interested in them, no doubt Vietnamese would share the goodies with their allies. As for the Aardwark, Soviets claim to obtain not pristine but a moderately damaged plane.

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And don't forget the first Soviet AAM was based on a captured Sidewinder.

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