The Iraqi Air Force’s F-16 Fleet Is On The Brink Of Collapse

Warzone/The Drive: The Iraqi Air Force’s F-16 Fleet Is On The Brink Of Collapse Despite Showy Flybys

A high-profile 23 F-16 flyover may only have served to paper over the cracks in what is an increasingly precarious Iraqi Viper fleet. 

A total of 23 Iraqi Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Viper fighter jets took part in an impressive flyby to mark the centenary of the country’s army yesterday. This is despite recent reports that Baghdad’s fleet of F-16s, the pride of the country’s air force and arguably its most capable combat assets, is suffering from serious readiness problems. 

The flyby was part of a major military parade to commemorate 100 years of the Iraqi Army that was staged in Baghdad in the presence of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi. As well as fighters and helicopters, troops, and various military vehicles were presented to the country’s officials and the general public. A full video of the event is posted later in this article. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: You need American trained personnel or contractors to maintain this fleet. But considering on how dangerous Iraq is right now. Who would want to work there.

Iraqi Pilots Are Saying U.S. Efforts To Build An Effective Iraqi Air Force Have Failed

In this Feb. 13, 2018 file photo, an Iraqi army soldier stand guard near a U.S.- made Iraqi Air Force F-16 fighter jet at the Balad Air Base, Iraq. Iraqi security officials said on Jan. 12, 2020, four members of Iraq's military have been wounded by a rocket attack targeting Balad Air Base, an air base just north of Baghdad. American trainers and a company that services F-16 aircraft are present at that base. Sunday's attack by at least six rockets came just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces, causing no casualties. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

FOX News: Billions wasted? Iraqi pilots claim pricey F-16 program is falling apart

The goal was for the Iraqi military to be able to defend itself, but some say that is not yet reality.

Nine years ago, just before the Obama administration pulled the plug on a troop presence in Iraq, Baghdad signed a landmark $4.3 billion, U.S.-backed Lockheed Martin deal to bolster its burgeoning air force with its very own fleet of F-16 fighter jets. The first batch arrived three years later, under the guise that the force would stand on its own two feet.

But billions of dollars and almost a decade later, some Iraqi pilots tell Fox News that there is little left of their investment and they fear few pilots are combat-ready to take on another ISIS wave or emerging threat.

So, what is going on?

Even before the global coronavirus pandemic swept through the beleaguered country, the Iraqi military was on high alert after the Jan. 3 U.S. assassination of Iran's top commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as he touched down in Baghdad. Retaliatory missile strikes against two U.S. bases resulted in the U.S. withdrawing some contractors and troops from an array of locations -- including the F-16 homestead, Balad Airbase, just north of the capital.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I could be wrong, but it looks like Iraq is trying to cut costs and not purchase parts from Lockheed. Unfortunately, the Iraqi-made parts are now failing thereby making these F-16s not operable. Maintaining fighter aircraft is a very expensive proposition, and you must always have experienced and knowledgeable maintenance crews backed with the proper parts to service these aircraft. It looks like Iraq is far from accomplishing this, and the US is not willing to stick around to help them. After-all. Who would want to work in Iraq in one of these bases as a contractor right now with all the violence that is ongoing.

Iraq's An-32 Cargo Planes That Were Turned Into Bombers Were Used More Than Either Iraq’s F-16s Or Its Light Attack Jets

An Iraqi Air Force An-32 with bomb racks in June 2017. Iraqi Air Force

The Warzone/The Drive: Iraq's An-32 Cargo Planes Turned Bombers Flew Nearly Twice As Many Strikes As its F-16s

New data shows the impromptu bombers were heavily involved in fighting ISIS.

Following a recent strike its F-16IQ Viper multi-role jets flew against ISIS terrorists in neighboring Syria, the Iraqi Air Force has released a detailed infographic showing how many combat and combat support missions each of its aircraft types have flown over the past nearly four years. Of particular note is that the country’s An-32 cargo planes have conducted more airstrikes than either Iraq’s F-16s or its Aero L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft, or ALCA, light attack jets.

The Iraqi Air Force released the infographic, with its text unfortunately only in Arabic, on its official social media accounts on April 23, 2018. But the statistics, which cover the period from June 10, 2014 to December 31, 2017, clearly show that the An-32s flew 990 strike missions during that time, almost twice that of the Iraqi F-16 fleet’s 514 sorties and nearly a sixth of the total missions that the aircraft conducted altogether. Neither figure is close to the more than 3,500 strikes that the country’s Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft flew in that same period.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I also suspect that these converted bombers were easier to maintain, and preferred by the commanders on the ground.

Building Iraq's Air Force Will Take Time

Training planes at an air force base in Tikrit. 'Building the Iraqi air force is not simple,' said Iraqi Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Anwar Amin on Tuesday. Reuters

U.S. Help to Upgrade Iraqi Air Force Will Take Time -- Wall Street Journal

BAGHDAD—The White House is pointing to a proposed sale of F-16 fighter jets to Iraq as a sign of a deepening security partnership, though delivery of the aircraft is a few years away, and Iraq's fighter pilots are still learning to fly.

That means Iraq will be left with a gap in its defenses after the departure this month of the last U.S. forces stationed in the nation.

Iraqi Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Anwar Amin said Tuesday Iraq's purchase of the fighters, which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp., was a "huge project" that would mean greater security for Iraq.

Read more ....

Update: Iraqi air force moves ahead with fighter squadron as U.S. exits -- Stars and Stripes

My Comment: Should Iraq be spared from its history of sectarian and religious conflict, I predict that it will be one of America's largest buyers of military equipment (building an air force alone will take years and billions of dollars to accomplish) .... and .... an indispensable political ally in the Middle East.

Selling F-16s To Iraq

U.S. To Sell 18 F-16s to Iraq: Pentagon -- Defense News

WASHINGTON - The United States is "very close" to selling some 18 F-16 fighter jets to Iraq, a top Pentagon official announced September 14.

Iraq had frozen the $4.2 billion deal earlier this year amid the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, but the prospects were "promising" for the contract to now move ahead, Gen. Russ Handy, head of the U.S. Air Force in Iraq, said.

Read more ....

My Comment: This rebuilding of the Iraqi air force is going to take time.

Rand: Iraqi Air Force Will Remain Dependent

U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter over Iraq.
TSGT Jack Braden, USAF

From The Air Force Times:

The Air Force’s future over Iraq could look a lot like operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, the patrols U.S. fighters flew over Iraq between the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

A new report by the think tank Rand Corp., “Withdrawing from Iraq,” predicts the Iraqi air force won’t be able to defend its nation’s skies until long after U.S. forces pull out of the country in 2011.

Read more ....

My Comment: If the Iraqi Government wants an air force .... which I am sure they do .... the U.S. Air Force will need to maintain a regular presence in Iraq for the next decade. We at War News Updates have been saying this for the past years .... and it appears that the Rand Group are now also concurring with this opinion.

Why The U.S. Is Going To Be In Iraq After The Withdrawal Date Of 2011

A new Iraqi helicopter at Taji, which is not allowed to fly off base because it lacks essential equipment. Max Becherer/Polaris for The New York Times

Iraq Can’t Defend Its Skies by Pullout Date, U.S. Says -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — The Iraqis will be unable to handle their own air defenses after all American troops withdraw from the country by the end of 2011, the top commander of American forces in Iraq said Tuesday.

The commander, Gen. Ray Odierno, in comments to reporters traveling here with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, did not directly say that American planes and pilots might effectively have to serve as an Iraqi air force until the Iraqis were ready to defend their country’s airspace on their own. But he said that a United States Air Force team was expected soon in Iraq to assess what the United States could, and should, do.

Read more ....

My Comment: Yup .... it looks like a few Americans are still going to be in Iraq for a period of time longer that what was predicted. War News Updates predicted that this was going to be the case when the original agreement for U.S. troop withdrawal was made last year. 6 months later .... the New York Times is now up to speed.

My prediction. Expect a U.S. - Iraq agreement next year in which U.S. military personnel will be permitted to stay to train and develop the Iraqi Air Force. Everyone will ignore the numbers that will be involved (about 20,000 to 30,000).

Iraq Reconstituting Its Airforce -- U.S. Servicemen Will Probably Be In Iraq Till 2020

Lt. Gen. Kamal Barzanji, from left, head of the Iraqi air force, U.S. Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash and Abdel Karim Aziz, head of the Iraqi Air Force Training School, attend a graduation ceremony at the school in Taji, on the outskirts of Baghdad, on Aug. 11. A class of 283 warrant officers graduated from basic military training in the Iraqi air force.

Iraq's Air Force Taking To The Skies Again -- LA Times

Grounded at the start of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the once-powerful force is being nurtured back into existence with the help of American trainers.

KIRKUK, IRAQ -- When Abu Mohammed walks down the flight line at a base outside this northern Iraqi city, there's a swagger in his stride. Engineers too young to remember Iraq's storied dogfights against Iran rush up to shake his hand.

For years, the pilot lived in hiding as a taxi driver. It feels good to take the controls of a plane again, he says. But the single-engine, turboprop aircraft in which he putters around in the sky are nothing like the fighter jets he commanded during the 1980s war with Iran.

Read more ....

My Comment: The key quote in the article is the following:

U.S. and Iraqi officers have devised a plan to build a self-sufficient air force with 350 aircraft and 20,000 personnel by 2020, but doing so will require the Iraqi government to spend about $2 billion a year.

This is how long American servicemen are probably going to stay in Iraq .... the year 2020.