French military missile found at US civilian airport

A military missile was found at the American Lakeland International Airport. Because of this, an evacuation had to be organized there.
The Tampa Bay Times newspaper writes about this with reference to the officials of the airport and the McDill military base.

A combat but unloaded French missile was discovered at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida while working in a warehouse. In terms of the degree of danger she posed to others, the newspaper compared her to a gunshot weaponsfuse.

Over the weekend, the missile was delivered to nearby McDill Air Force Base. There, the ammunition was placed in an ammunition depot, where it will await disposal.

According to Lieutenant Brandon Hanner, servicemen of the 6th Engineer Squadron were sent to ensure safety from the McDill Air Base to neutralize explosive ordnance. 6th Logistics Squadron dispatched a truck with a crew to help them load the missile and transport it to the base.

According to the director of the airline, Eugene Conrad, the airport had previously received missiles for the defense contractor Draken International. But the fact that a missile was at the airport led to the evacuation of the entire southeast wing of the airport for about four hours. The director said that for the first time in 10 years of work at this place, he is faced with such a case.

At the same time, it is still unclear why the airport staff "forgot" about the rocket, which was previously placed in one of the warehouses.

Comments

[tralflot1832]

Upset. Why not in Cuba, or she was already there. With Helfair, it did not work out badly.

[Baloo]

I forgot that. Please excuse me. Tell Pompeo, next time ... I'm not hinting ... well, I don't like him. It scares Russia all the time. I’m very angry with him.

[210ox]

Well. Russians again ..

[Prisoner]

And how cunning. The French got a communion and slipped them into mattresses. As soon as they have time?

[antivirus]

I tried, but as usual it turned out:

How did the freaks not know about the danger of the cargo?

[rotmistr60]

They sent a rocket by airmail for review, and it got stuck at the airport due to sloppiness (just kidding). Just think. The Americans lost nuclear weapons (dropped from aircraft) and nothing, and then they got alarmed because of a French missile.

[tralflot1832]

One thermonuclear fusion is still in the swamps of Florida, but they haven’t found it. They will find it when it explodes.

[grau]

And that rockets also want to fly first class.

[dzvero]

Now what, will Macron be put on the counter or will they immediately bomb Paris?

[Cowbra]

Clowns. Then on the road in the Indian reservation they lost a box of combat grenades (Isesna, did not find ), then at the international airport combat missiles are lying around - well, how, in principle, did it get there? Bought a ticket and flew in Airbus yourself?

[A. Privalov]

A combat but unloaded French missile was discovered at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida while working in a warehouse.

(Courtesy of American First Class Pilot David McLoney)

This airport has been in the joint use of the army and civilians for a very long time. Actually, it became fully commercial only three years ago. There are a bunch of warehouses and hangars, which are gradually transferred into the hands of the port operational service. During an audit of one of the storage locations, we came across this device.

[A. Privalov]

But this should be in the container.

A year ago, on July 15, 2019, the anti-terrorist section of DIGOS (Italian abbreviation for General Investigations and Special Operations Division), a specialized unit of the Polizia di Stato (Italian State Police), carried out a raid against a neo-Nazi gang and seized an arsenal of various weapons, weapons parts, ammunition and, in particular, the Matra R530F air-to-air missile with radar guidance.

The investigation began a year before this event, while observing Italian foreign fighters who participated in the hostilities in the DPR.
While listening to the telephone conversations of one of the suspects, the police discovered the presence of a rocket and an attempt to sell it to an unknown customer for 470 euros. The police then proceeded to confiscate the missile at a warehouse near Voghera-Rivanazzano Terme airport in northern Italy.

This is a French-made Matra R-530F (also known as Super 530) air-to-air missile with short- to medium-range semi-active radar homing (SARH) and was found in its original container, the markings of which indicated its belonging. in the Armed Forces of Qatar.

Marking:
"Contract dated October 10, 80
State of Qatar
Qatar Armed Forces
Doha-Qatar-Persian Gulf
MIS A/A MP EM F20 S530
LOT: 83, SERIAL NO .: 5284 "

According to the markings, it is an R.530 F20 missile with serial number 5284, belonging to production batch 83 and sold to the Qatar government on October 10, 1980.

The missile is marked “active”, which is indicated by the presence of a yellow stripe, which is used for the label for an explosive warhead, and a red stripe, indicating the presence of propellant; However, during the inspection, it was found that the warhead was missing.

The Super 530 missiles were intended to arm 14 Mirage F1EDA fighters purchased in the same year by the Emir of Qatar's Air Force. The F20 version was specially designed for use on the Mirage F1, and the D version was developed for use on the newer Mirage 2000. In 1994, Qatar replaced the Mirage F1 with the Mirage 2000, selling its old fighters to Spain and the Super 530 to an unnamed country. It is unclear how the missile ended up in the hands of the neo-Nazi gang and how it crossed the Italian border unnoticed.

[Old26]

Quote: tralflot1832

One thermonuclear fusion is still in the swamps of Florida, but they haven’t found it. They will find it when it explodes.

Will not explode anymore

[prior]

Not otherwise in America they are preparing for the elections.

[Pushkowed]

the airport has previously received missiles for the defense contractor Draken International

In fact, Draken International is a contractor specializing in "providing enemy simulation services in aerial combat training." Operates a wide variety of decommissioned combat aircraft from around the world. Their flight characteristics are unusual for American fighter pilots. This is done to teach them how to conduct dogfighting air battles with the most diverse and unexpected opponents. And also in order to save the resource of "state-owned" aircraft, not chasing them as a "conditional enemy" during exercises.

Now the juice itself. Officially, all Draken International aircraft have been demilitarized... They cannot use weapons. The question arises: why did the Drakens suddenly need fighting missiles "air-to-air" Matra R-530F, designed for the French and South African "Mirages" (of which Draken has several dozen)?