Equipping The New Iraqi Air Force Inventory

Originally posted by skippytjc
Id say a few hundred F-16 supplemented with 25-50 F-35’s. Iraq needs to be more capable than its neighbors.

And as I mentioned before: The F-35’s would only be owned and piloted by the Iraq’s, the entire maintenance program and their bases of operation would be American.

I nice contingent of Apache’s would round out their force nicely.

A few hundred...?? not even our air-force has that many planes... And I think that we are in better shape than Iraq...

[edit on 1-6-2006 by Figher Master FIN]

Originally posted by Figher Master FIN
And I think that we are in better shape than Iraq...

[edit on 1-6-2006 by Figher Master FIN]

Thus the need for a few hundred F-16's...

The Middle East is all about war, conflict, and instability, has been for centuries. The USA just invested hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq, it MUST be the most powerful influence in the region when all is said and done.

Wich F-16 are we talking about...?? I mean A, B, C, D...?? And it sounds easy yes... but USA won't pay for iraq logner than they have to... Wich means that haveing hundreds of F-16 will be very expensive and hard to maintain... And giving them F-35 will also be a mistake, since they can't handle a plane like that...

I'd say give them a few (12-24) F-16s for airspace patrols... that's all they need atm, those and helos...

Later if USAF planes leave the region they should be given a proper fighter force, if the goverment can be trusted

Iraq will need to dominate the air. Who are they competing against? Russian and Chinese backed neighbors who have no issue providing them with their best tech.

Look, it’s no secret the USA will maintain a "presence" in Iraq for decades to come. And if the USA wants Iraq to remain good "friends" with them, Iraq will need to be able to defend itself against very modern and formidable threats.

A few dozen F-35's for some immediate air dominance. But any prolonged conflict would not be an air war; it will be a ground war. And name a more suitable aircraft than the F-16 as a fighter bomber that would be appropriate for the USA to provide to the Iraqi's? Any variant for that matter is fine too. 100 or so Apache Longbows and Iraq is just fine from any regional threat, and enough of a deterrent for global threats to think twice.


They need a representation of the best. Nothing else will do.

I don't think that once US withdraws much of it's forces from Iraq, that Russia and China will have any problem selling to the Iraqis. Obviously they will not sell their really good stuff for fear of Iraqis allowing US access to them. However, the aforementioned countries would love to regain influence in Iraq. Not to mention, dollars.

I'd even suggest use of an "elite" squadron or two of Fulcrums or even Flankers. Heaven knows that Flanker is totally invincible!!!

I'd still say they need defensive capability to control their own airspace. They still have aircrews and groundgrunts who worked on Sovblok AC. Why throw that away spending hundreds of millions introducing new types?

The new IAF is obviously going to be under a protective umbrella of USAF but I still think that their national pride will be better served in flying non-US types. The national treasury (theirs and ours-US) will be eased by flying low maintenance, low-cost airframes.

F-35's will NOT be going to Iraq for the same reasons the Russians/Chinese won't sell their top AC. Besides, cheaper airframes are easier replaced when some jihadist drives a suicide fuel bowser into them. A few F-35's would make a nice target!

General Chuck Horner insists that Iraqis had good pilots. Put 'em in some non-robot training, let 'em straddle some decent platform.

Build back their infrastructure. Give 'em some patrol and recce capability, then some cargo-hauling capability, then some attack (fixed AND rotary wing), then some fighter. Teach them how to keep all that flying and IMHO they will do just fine.

It is dodgy these days to supply the new iraqi air force, especially with the insurgents. However, We can still supply them with

How about 10000 ultra-light's with machine guns they wont be much alone but
at 100-1, odd's are they will get um.

To properly defend themselves from foreign threats iraq will need decent fighters like the F-16C or the F/A-18C. They could also use E-3B Sentry aircraft for early detection. To help fight the insurgents they could use some close air support aircraft like the Longbow Apaches, AH-1W cobras or some A-10s. They could also use some of the latest C-130s to provide logistical support to isolated bases in the middle of the desert.