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June 5, 2014 (by Lieven Dewitte) - This week Lockheed Martin will deliver the first of 36 F-16s toIraq, giving Iraq the capability of defending its "3.600km of borders" according to Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily. Baghdad's envoy travels to Fort Worth today for a ceremony at which Lockheed and the U.S. government will formally deliver the first F-16 to Iraq.
IqAF F-16D block 52 #1601 is coming in for landing at NAS Fort Worth on May 14th, 2014 after performing a testflight. [Photo by Carl Richards]
Iraq ordered its first batch of 18 F-16s in 2011 for $3 billion and made a request for another batch of 18 F-16s right after. That deal was finally concluded in October of 2012 with another batch of 12 F-16Cs and 6 F-16Ds to be acquired.
A group of three or four new jets will be ferried to Iraq by the end of the year. Iraq is completing work on the air base in Balad where the new jets will be housed.
The first Iraqi pilot graduated the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training in March 2012. To date, 11 Iraqi pilots have trained to fly F-16s at Tucson while others are still in training.
Lockheed is building the F-16s for Iraq under a contract with the Pentagon that also includes mission equipment and a support package provided by Lockheed and other companies.
The Iraqi air force has been virtually nonexistent since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that eventually toppled fall of former Baath Party dictator Saddam Hussein.
In addition to the F-16 fighter jets, Iraq has plans to buy Boeing Apache helicopters and other weapons from the U.S. government, to assume further responsibility for its own defense and counterterrorism efforts.
The US is not the only military supplier for Iraq; the country has also signed agreements with Russia and the Czech Republic for air defense initiatives.
Lockheed said the Iraqi order would keep the F-16 production line running through late 2017, but it continues to bid for new orders in hopes of continuing production through 2020.
source:First of 36 F-16s to be handed over to Iraq this week
IqAF F-16D block 52 #1601 is coming in for landing at NAS Fort Worth on May 14th, 2014 after performing a testflight. [Photo by Carl Richards]
Iraq ordered its first batch of 18 F-16s in 2011 for $3 billion and made a request for another batch of 18 F-16s right after. That deal was finally concluded in October of 2012 with another batch of 12 F-16Cs and 6 F-16Ds to be acquired.
A group of three or four new jets will be ferried to Iraq by the end of the year. Iraq is completing work on the air base in Balad where the new jets will be housed.
The first Iraqi pilot graduated the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training in March 2012. To date, 11 Iraqi pilots have trained to fly F-16s at Tucson while others are still in training.
Lockheed is building the F-16s for Iraq under a contract with the Pentagon that also includes mission equipment and a support package provided by Lockheed and other companies.
The Iraqi air force has been virtually nonexistent since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that eventually toppled fall of former Baath Party dictator Saddam Hussein.
In addition to the F-16 fighter jets, Iraq has plans to buy Boeing Apache helicopters and other weapons from the U.S. government, to assume further responsibility for its own defense and counterterrorism efforts.
The US is not the only military supplier for Iraq; the country has also signed agreements with Russia and the Czech Republic for air defense initiatives.
Lockheed said the Iraqi order would keep the F-16 production line running through late 2017, but it continues to bid for new orders in hopes of continuing production through 2020.
source:First of 36 F-16s to be handed over to Iraq this week
