Says Parts Could Fall Into Iranian Hands

An Oregon Senator has called for a permanent ban on the sale of leftover F-14 Tomcat parts, over concerns those supplies could fall into the wrong hands.

At the top of that list of undesirables is Iran, which sports the only military force still flying F-14s... or that's trying to, anyway.

The Associated Press reports the Defense Department pulled those parts -- made obsolete after the Tomcat's retirement last year -- off the market Tuesday, after an investigation by the AP revealed evidence several countries have been able to circumvent Pentagon security efforts and buy parts for the F-14, other military aircraft, and even missile components.

That's not good enough for Democratic lawmaker Ron Wyden, however. He wants a complete and total ban on the Pentagon selling the parts, out of fear those parts could end up going to Iran, or China.

"The Pentagon is shutting the barn door for now when national security demands that we lock it," Senator Wyden said.

Wyden introduced legislation last week that would stop the sale of surplus F-14 parts permanently. It would also ban buyers who already acquired such parts from exporting them.

"The only way to ensure that America doesn't arm Iran is for the US to permanently stop selling these weapons parts," Wyden said. "This review does not do that and I am going to press on until it happens."

Iran purchased its F-14s in the 1970s, when the country was considered a US ally. After the US retired the swing-wing fighter last fall, the Pentagon ordered at least 10,000 parts considered unique to the Tomcat to be destroyed... but that still left the military with tens of thousands of Tomcat parts considered safe for resale.

The Pentagon relies on surplus sales to recoup its costs, and maintains it has procedures in place to ensure critical items do not get into the hands of those hostile to the US.

FMI: http://wyden.senate.gov/, www.drms.dla.mil/