Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Iraq is preparing for the arrival of advanced U.S. fighter-jets.

Officials said the Iraqi Defense Ministry and Air Force have been arranging for the first delivery of the F-16 multi-role fighter by the United States.

They said the first batch of F-16 Block 52 aircraft is expected to arrive in June 2014.

“The first batch will consist of four F-16s, and they will be fully-equipped,” an official said.

Officials said Iraq would receive a total of 36 F-16s. They said the administration of President Barack Obama, in cooperation with manufacturer Lockheed Martin, has pledged an accelerated delivery schedule.

“Iraqi crews are being trained on the F-16s in the United States and this will continue in Iraq,” the official said.

Officials said the F-16s would be operated for air space defense and border security missions. They said the U.S. Air Force has developed an air command and control center to monitor traffic throughout Iraq.

So far, Baghdad has not gained access to the AH-64 Apache attack
helicopter. Officials said the U.S. Congress was considering lifting the ban
on the Apache as early as February 2014 amid the Sunni revolt in the Iraqi
province of Anbar.

“The American approach is based on the assessment that the threat from
Al Qaida and terrorist organizations threaten the region rather than just
Iraq,” Abbas Al Bayati, a member of parliament’s Defense and Security
Committee, told the London-based Al Hayat daily.

Al Bayati, regarded as close to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki,
expressed confidence that Washington would soon export the Apache. He said
the United States did not impose any restrictions on the F-16 or Apache,
expected to be equipped with the Hellfire air-to-ground missile.

“We are very satisfied with the level of cooperation,” Al Bayati said on
Jan. 25. “The cooperation is on three levels — intelligence, training and
equipment.”

  Anbar province, expected to arrive in June, F-16 Block 52, Iraq trains flight crews for U.S. F-16s, Lockheed Martin, Nouri Al Maliki