November 10,
2008: Over the next 18 months, Iraq plans to expand its air force to over 130
aircraft and 6,000 personnel. Within seven years, it plans to have over 500
aircraft, most of them non-combat types. Currently the air force has seven
squadrons: (1 transport, 2 reconnaissance, 1 helicopter training, 1 helicopter
transport, 1 utility/search and rescue, and 1 special operations). In seven
years there will be about 35 squadrons (14 fighter, 5 attack helicopter, 5
armed scout helicopter, 2 transport, 2 reconnaissance, 1 fixed wing training, 1
helicopter training, 3 helicopter transport, 1 utility/search and rescue, and 1
special operations). The Iraqis are seeking to buy F-16 fighters, noting that
neighboring Turkey and Jordan have done well with this model.
Currently,
the air force is flying, with some 80 aircraft, about 50 sorties a day, mostly
transport and reconnaissance. The first combat aircraft will be in action next
year, as Iraq equips its Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft with laser designators and
Hellfire missiles. Mi-17 helicopters will be equipped to fire unguided rockets.
The biggest
problem for the air force is finding Iraqis to serve as aircraft maintainers
and mechanics and repair technicians in general. There is also a shortage, common
throughout the entire armed forces, of mid-level NCOs officers to supervise all
the work.
Earlier this
year, the United States gave the Iraqi Air Force eleven training aircraft
(eight Cessna 172s and three Cessna Caravan 208). The donated aircraft are worth
nearly $10 million. The Cessna C172 is a single engine aircraft that costs
about $600,000, and can also be used for reconnaissance. C-172s are cheaper
than UAVs. Many air forces use a militarized version, as the T-41 basic flight
trainer. The C-172 is a 1.1 ton aircraft
with a max speed of 228 kilometers an hour, and can stay in the air for about
six hours per sortie. The aircraft is easy to fly, and can be equipped with all
manner of night and day video cameras. The Iraqis have lots of unemployed pilots,
who are happy to have anything to fly. But the existing pilots are getting on
in years, and the Iraqis have established a military flight school up north,
where the 172s are used for basic flight training.
The Cessna
Caravan 208 is a larger, single engine, aircraft that can carry nine passengers
or a ton of cargo. It can be rigged to carry electronic warfare gear (for
picking up transmissions from the ground, or jamming.) The Caravan 208 costs
several million dollars, and is also used to train pilots to handle larger
aircraft.
