Question regarding the pilot rescue in Iran
Posted by _Koloki_@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 10 comments
I don't know anything about planes and helicopters and much less about army vehicles.
In the news they are saying that during the pilot rescue in Iran the military had to abandon/ destroy a bunch of vehicles that had unrecoverable issues.
My question is does this happen often? You would expect military vehicles to not brake down during critical operations? Are military planes and helicopters on constant matenace?
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Uncross-Selector@reddit
They probably sunk into soft sand. It’s then much easier for the people on the ground to scope out or hard pack a different area so the rescue craft could come in, they’d also possibly not fully stop but keep moving slowly while the soldiers jumped on.
Jasonmoofang@reddit
To my understanding, they basically established a forward mini-base (a FARP). Military planes prob have issues as often as civ ones, and when you're operating out of a austere piece of sand rather than well equipped airports, then I reckon the risks compound. My guess is it's not something that is unfixable, and probably if this were a more permanent base of operations they prob could get people in to fix it and then fly them out.
But there were in and out in less than 48 hours right under the enemy's nose, so I reckon they decided the best course of action was to destroy the grounded aircraft and get out with everyone alive rather than risk extending their stay.
To their credit, that's a lot of commitment to get one guy out.
ClearlyCylindrical@reddit
Must have been good for morale, "no man left behind" and all.
Background_Wrap9472@reddit
The US military has two units who entire job is specifically to do this…DEVGRU & SFOD-D
Sad_in_VA@reddit
You would expect military vehicles to not brake down during critical operations?
When they are taking enemy fire? No...
SirLoremIpsum@reddit
On the contrary - operations is when you plan for break downs the most often.
It is reported the c-130 was stuck on the improvised airfield not a break down but who knows. Heavy, astute runway. Who knows...
But military aircraft break down all the time. That's life.
Operation Eagle Claw was aborted because 3 of the 8 Helicopters has mechanical issues - hydraulics, electrical, cracked blade.
Black Buck Raids in the Falklands War had numerous reserve aircraft because you never know - and they did have issues.
Helicopters on critical missions often don't power down Because it's a risk they won't power back up during critical times.
Oh god yes. Military stuff is designed for performance, civilian stuff is designed for reliability and fuel efficiency and cost. Military stuff sure reliability is a priority but when you have many airmen to do maintenance it is less of a concern than outright performance.
Look at maintenance per flight hour for an A320 vs a C-17!
Chessdaddy_@reddit
My guess is that they fly low to the ground which increases the risk of stuff going into the engines. Also helicopters are very complex and maintenance heavy
uae08@reddit
Military vehicles operate in a lot more austere and atypical conditions as compared to their civillian counterparts.
Basically they go to shitty environments, where theres a lot more chance of shit breaking.
It is plausible that the c130s got stuck in the sand due to their heavy weight, so they had to destroy them and the helicopters that I believe were transported inside the c130s.
Skyremmer102@reddit
This isn't a military strategy sub, but I would say that battle damage makes it increasingly likely that an aircraft is rendered non-airworthy.