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Thursday, September 20, 2007      New: Take a Stand

U.S. announces plans for major buildup of Iraq air force

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has drafted a five-year plan to develop the Iraqi Air Force.

Under the plan, officials said, the Iraqi Air Force would more than double over the next year.

In a Sept. 17 briefing, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Zehner, a senior adviser on the Coalition Air Transition Team, based in Kirkuk, outlined elements of the five-year plan to develop the Iraqi Air Force. He said 1,200 Iraqis serve in the air force out of 2,900 authorized slots.

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Over the last year, the Iraq Air Force has increased the number of weekly sorties by six-fold. The service contains 51 aircraft, none of them fighter-jets, Middle East Newsline reported.

"No state or government is truly sovereign unless it can control and defend its own airspace," Zehner said. "It's a pretty tall order and it takes time."

In 2008, he said, the U.S.-led coalition plans to expand the air force to 6,000 Iraqi personnel. He said this would require the formation of additional air units.

Officials said the air force represented a major step in the U.S. effort to achieve Iraqi capability to defend against internal and external threats.

"We will have to stand up some squadrons," Zehner said. "But that's the Iraqis standing up squadrons and us working to help them on that way."

"You won't have a credible security force until that Iraqi air force is up and running," Zehner said.

In September 2007, the air force conducted its first independent reconnaissance mission. The air force has used U.S.- and Jordanian-origin turboprop light aircraft to protect Iraq's energy infrastructure and supply reconnaissance to ground troops.

"Their training missions are actual operational missions," Zehner said. "What better way to train somebody?"

The five-year plan could include the procurement of combat aircraft, Zehner said. He said any fighter-jet acquisition, which would include training and infrastructure, would take years.

"We're going to have to start making decisions soon here," Zehner said. "We're trying to cut through a lot of red tape."

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