Either this is stone cold stupid or an act of espionage that we are just now hearing about. A dummy Hellfire missile was sent in 2014 to Spain for a NATO training exercise. It was supposed to be shipped back to the US. Instead, it was shipped to Havana. Officials realized where it was headed in mid-flight, but the plane would not respond to calls. Once it landed, Cuban officials seized the technology and I’m assuming they have reversed engineered it by now. Fortunately, the missile did not have an explosive warhead or a complete guidance system. It was also missing its rocket motor. But the technology was intact and I’m sure the Cubans were all over that baby.
From the Daily Mail:
US defence officials are investigating how a Hellfire missile sent to Europe in 2014 for a training mission in Spain ended up in Cuba.
The high-tech laser-guided air-to-ground missile is one of the main armaments used by the US military in its air campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The weapon can be fitted to helicopters, aircraft and unmanned drones and is used to destroy ground based targets.
Officials fear the remaining technology on board the munition could be reversed engineered by Russian, Iranian or North Korean scientists. You might want to add the Chinese to that list. Just peachy. The Wall Street Journal evidently broke this story. The feds managed to hush it up for over a year. Once the mission was completed, the missile was sent through Spain, Germany and France, where it was loaded onto an Air France aircraft at Charles De Gaulle airport. Then it was off on its merry way to Cuba. We’ve asked for it back, but the Cubans are not responding. Gee… didn’t Obama just reinstate diplomatic relations with them? That’s not very friendly if you ask me. But it is right on par for the communist Castro brothers. The Journal reported that the US is also investigating whether the missile’s disappearance was a deliberate act of espionage. I’d bet on it. No one is that stupid… my money’s on espionage. Convenient timing too. Wonder if it came with a gift card from Obama.
