A Syrian MiG-21, flown into Jordan last June by Syrian Air Force Colonel Hassan Hamada, had been upgraded to fly without a pilot and to carry chemical weapons.
U.S. experts who examined the plane and questioned the pilot believe Russian engineers helped with the upgrade.
A MiG-21 combat aircraft flown by a Syrian pilot who
defected to Jordan in June was found to have been upgraded back in Syria
to carry chemical weapons and to fly without a pilot, according to U.S.
experts who examined the plane. The experts believe Russian engineers
helped convert the plane and that Syria has more of them in its air
force.
On June 21, Syrian pilot Hassan Hamada, who holds a rank
equivalent to colonel, took off in his MiG-21 from al-Dumair military
airport northeast of Damascus and flew to King Hussein Airbase just
across Syria’s southern border with Jordan. Upon landing in Jordan,
Hamada removed his rank and requested political asylum.
Syria immediately admitted the pilot had defected and
called him a traitor. Suspicion arose when Syria put increasing pressure
on Jordan to return the plane. After being examined by Western
intelligence agencies, the aircraft was discovered to have the ability
to employ chemical weapons and fly without a pilot.
Information about the plane’s additional capability was
reportedly passed on to U.S. intelligence agencies, which were said to
have studied the information and interviewed Hamada. After concluding
their examinations, U.S. experts said they believe Russian engineers
helped convert the MiG-21 to an aircraft with unmanned aerial capability
that could be armed with chemical weapons. Officials at the Pentagon
believe additional Syrian aircraft underwent the same conversion,
although the exact number is unknown.
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