IBSA
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Iraqi builds a HELICOPTER to protect his country's borders (but will it really fly?)
An Iraqi man is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to border security — and has spent almost 30 million Iraqi dinars, or £15,000, building his own helicopter.
Hatim Kadim Salman, 59, is building the flying machine in Muqdadiyah, a city of 300,00 located 60 miles north of Baghdad in Iraq. He has called the machine Diyala 1, after its home province.
The helicopter is certainly cheaper than the standard British military issue — the Army Air Corps Apache attack helicopters that were deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq clock in at about $20million each.
Mr Salman's helicopter differs from the Apache in other ways, too — for starters, it only has two blades at the moment, instead of the regular four.
And there's no sign of any gun mounts on it, unlike the Apache's substantial weaponry, which includes air-to-air and anti-tank missiles.
The machine has also been painted a vivid blue colour — perhaps so it can stealthily fly unnoticed against the sky? - instead of the Apache's grey-green hue.
But it's certainly the first homemade helicopter in Iraq — though whether it can fly or not remains to be seen.
An Iraqi man is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to border security — and has spent almost 30 million Iraqi dinars, or £15,000, building his own helicopter.
Hatim Kadim Salman, 59, is building the flying machine in Muqdadiyah, a city of 300,00 located 60 miles north of Baghdad in Iraq. He has called the machine Diyala 1, after its home province.
The helicopter is certainly cheaper than the standard British military issue — the Army Air Corps Apache attack helicopters that were deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq clock in at about $20million each.
Mr Salman's helicopter differs from the Apache in other ways, too — for starters, it only has two blades at the moment, instead of the regular four.
And there's no sign of any gun mounts on it, unlike the Apache's substantial weaponry, which includes air-to-air and anti-tank missiles.
The machine has also been painted a vivid blue colour — perhaps so it can stealthily fly unnoticed against the sky? - instead of the Apache's grey-green hue.
But it's certainly the first homemade helicopter in Iraq — though whether it can fly or not remains to be seen.
