Recovering a fighter jet . . . the Marine way!

I had to smile at the US Marine effort to recover a French Mirage 2000 fighter (the two-seat 'D' variant) that crashed in Afghanistan last week. It seemed to have landed in a relatively intact condition after its two-man crew ejected safely . . . but by the time the Marines finished with it, it wasn't any longer! DVIDS reports:

U.S., French and Italian forces conducted an 81-mile combat logistics patrol from Regional Command Southwest to retrieve the French jet without incident in the Bakwa district of Regional Command West.

. . .

EOD and ARFF worked closely alongside the French team to dismantle the aircraft as much as possible prior to loading the wings of the aircraft onto a Logistics Vehicle System Replacement and the body onto a M870 Trailer.




“It was the most impressive event I had the privilege to witness since being here,” said Maj. Thomas Parmiter, CLB-8 executive officer and mission commander. “The CLB-8 Marines truly impressed me with their hustle and discipline, the MWSS-272 team was top notch with their intensity and focus.

“The EOD team was no less impressive with their exceptional knowledge of the aircraft,” he continued. “The French were a pleasure to work with despite the language barrier, and the Italians were professional and remained patient despite the inevitable friction we encountered.”




“Normally these recovery missions take two or three days,” said Master Sgt. Greg Harlan, ARFF staff non-commissioned officer in charge. “This was just accomplished in one day, that’s phenomenal.”

There's more at the link.

I thought blowing off the wings with plastic explosive, to make it easier to load, was a nice touch:




I suppose it would have taken too long, in a combat zone, to unbolt them the slow way: but I can guess the reaction of the Marine combat engineers, when they were invited to remove the wings of a French fighter quickly. Can you just imagine the evil gleam in the eyes of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children as they looked at each other . . . ?

Boys and their toys, indeed!





Peter