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Iraq has ordered 36 F-16 combat aircraft, one of which has been lost in a training accident. The first was reported to have arrived in-country on 13 July. Source: Lockheed Martin
The first of an expected 36 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon combat aircraft for Iraq has arrived in-country, a senior US government official disclosed on 13 July.
The arrival of at least one twin-seat F-16D (serial number 1604) was tweeted by Ambassador Brett McGurk, the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the US Department of State. Neither the Iraqi government nor the US Department of Defense (DoD) had publically announced such an arrival at the time of writing.
Having ordered its Block 52 F-16s in two batches of 18 aircraft during 2011 and 2012, the Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) received its first one in late 2014. However, due to the critical security situation in that country, Iraqi pilots and maintainers trained on their new aircraft alongside the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing at Tucson in the United States.
Ambassador McGurk did not reveal the number of aircraft to have arrived in Iraq, except to tweet that it was "the first squadron", and while he did not reveal the location of the aircraft's arrival, it is understood that the IqAF is to base its F-16s at Balad Air Base.
According to US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notifications of the F-16 sale, the aircraft are equipped with Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems; conformal fuel tanks; Pratt & Whitney F100PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 increased-performance engines; AN/APG-68(V)9 radar sets; AN/AAQ-33 Sniper or AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pods; F-9120 Advanced Airborne Reconnaissance Systems (AARS) or DB-110 reconnaissance pods; AN/ALQ-211 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites or Advanced Countermeasures Electronic Systems (ACES); and AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing systems.
Weapon systems listed by the DSCA comprise M61 20 mm Vulcan cannons (plus 40,000 rounds of ammunition); AIM-9L/M-8/9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; AIM-7M-F1/H Sparrow medium-range missiles; AGM-65D/G/H/K Maverick air-to-surface missiles; 500 lb (226.8 kg) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs; 2,000 lb (907.1 kg) GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs; 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs; and Mk 84 2000 lb and Mk 82 500 lb general-purpose bombs.
Of the 24 single-seat F-16C and 12 twin-seat F-16D aircraft ordered by Iraq, approximately five were understood to have been delivered up to the end of March. One of these (1601) was lost during an aerial refuelling exercise over Arizona on 24 June, resulting in the death of its pilot, Brigadier General Rasid Muhammad Sadiq. It is not yet clear if this aircraft will be replaced, although it is likely that it will be.
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First Iraqi F-16s arrive in-country - IHS Jane's 360
