Lebanon shipped seized Hellfire missiles to US 'officially'

Beirut has played down a scare triggered by the discovery of testing missiles on a US-bound plane from Lebanon landed in Serbia, which were originally were thought to be explosives.

MENA

2 min read

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14 March, 2016

The American-made projectiles can be fired from air, sea or ground platforms [Getty]

Two hellfire missiles found on a US-bound Air Serbia flight from Beirut were being shipped back legally and officially, a Lebanese military source has said.

The missiles were received by the Lebanese army from the US government more than a year ago for training purposes, the source added, and contain no explosives.

They were being returned to the US after the training was completed.

An official statement from the later confirmed the Beirut government had allowed the training missiles into the plane, putting to rest concerns regarding safety protocols at the country's main in the capital.

The statement said that the military "decided to return them to the US manufacturer company as the deal states and according to the complied legal and administrative regulation after the training ended."

The package with two guided armour-piercing missiles had been discovered on Saturday by a sniffer dog after an Air Serbia flight from Beirut landed at Belgrade airport.

Terror plot scare

The military statement comes a day after Serbian media said that authorities are investigating reports that a cargo package bound for the US containing two missiles with explosive warheads were found on a passenger flight from Lebanon to Serbia, triggering concerns about a terrorist plot.

Two guided armour-piercing missiles had been discovered on Saturday by a sniffer dog after an Air Serbia flight from Beirut landed at Belgrade airport.

Serbian N1 television said documents listed the final destination for the AGM-114 Hellfire missiles as Portland, Oregon.

The Serbian state news agency Tanjug reported that the missiles had been packed in wooden coffins and unloaded at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, where they were inspected by bomb-sniffing dogs.

The AGM-114 model is manufactured by Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrup Grumman. It weighs around 100 pounds and cost about $110,000 apiece. Most models use lasers to home in on their targets, although one version of the AGM-114 relies on radar.

The FBI in Portland said it is looking into the reports.

"We don't have any information on that yet," Jennifer Adams, an FBI spokeswoman, said on Sunday afternoon.

N1 reported Sunday that Air Serbia is helping in the investigation. The Serbian flag carrier says "security and safety are the main priorities for Air Serbia."

Agencies contributed to this story.