<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile — Iraq upgrading air force from Soviet-era fighters to U.S. F-16s
Iraq upgrading air force from Soviet-era fighters to U.S. F-16s

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

BAGHDAD — The Iraq Air Force is expected to nearly double its fleet by 2009.

Officials said Iraq has ordered helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that could enable the air force to operate a fleet of more than 120 aircraft by the end of 2008.

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadar Mohammed Jassim his ministry was focusing on procuring the U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighter as the first attack aircraft in post-Saddam Iraq. Until the U.S. invasion of 2003, Iraq had operated Soviet-origin fighter-jets.

"The F-16s being ordered by the Iraqi government are for advancing the future capability of the Iraq military and to protect all of Iraq's land, including the cherished Kurdistan region," Jassim said on Sept. 10.

The U.S. Defense Department said Baghdad has requested data on the price and availability of the F-16. The Pentagon said Iraq was seeking to procure up to 36 F-16s from Lockheed Martin.

Jassim said the F-16s would not be used for operations in Iraq. The defense minister said the expansion of the air force and the rest of the military would enable Iraq to ensure internal security without foreign help by 2011. "The air force has ordered a range of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft scheduled to arrive over the next few months," an official said. "This will make the air force into a genuine military arm."

Officials said the air force has about 75 U.S.- and Russian-origin aircraft. They said the force has expanded its intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities to facilitate both military and security operations, including the protection of borders and oil fields.

By 2009, the air force was expected to expand to 123 aircraft. Officials cited deals for Bell and Mi helicopters from the United States and Russia.

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