Officials said the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has
decided to delay plans to sign a contract for the F-16 multi-role fighter, Middle East Newsline reported.
They said the Defense Ministry had been planning to sign a contract with the
U.S. government to procure 18 F-16 Block 52+ aircraft in 2011.
"The F-16 contract has been postponed this year and the money has been
diverted toward improving food rations," Iraqi government spokesman Ali
Dabbagh said.
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In a briefing on Feb. 14, Al Dabbagh did not provide details on the F-16
package. But officials said parliament was already told of plans to allocate
$900 million as a downpayment to Lockheed Martin, prime contractor of the
F-16.
Officials said the F-16 project was worth $3 billion and would include
spare parts, munitions and trainng. They said the Iraq Air Force would
require an expensive infrastructure to support the advanced
fourth-generation combat aircraft.
Parliament has been debating a government budget for 2011 reported at
$81.86 billion. The budget contained a $13.3 billion deficit.
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