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| Iraq |
| US to deliver Iraqi F-16s by end of summer |
| 2015-06-17 |
| [Rudaw] The US will deliver F-16 warplanes to the Iraqi military and promised to supply separately arms to nine Iraqi army brigades and three Peshmerga brigades by the end of the summer, according to US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones in comments to journalists in Baghdad Tuesday. Jones added that the US does not plan to open new military bases in Iraq, but said the Balad airbase would be prepped to receive the promised jets. Balad is located in the Sunni Triangle 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Baghdad. On Monday, Jabar Yawar, a front man for the Kurdistan region's Ministry of Peshmerga, announced at a presser in Erbil the ministry had "started distributing registration forms for those who want to voluntarily join the Peshmerga forces and until now thousands of volunteers have signed up to join." "The USA has decided to arm the three volunteer brigades of the Peshmarga," Yawar added. In 2011 the Iraqi government reached an agreement with the US to buy 36 F-16s, but because of security concerns about the ongoing ISIS war, none of the warplanes have been sent to Iraq yet. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #8 Balad (Formerly LSA Anaconda, AKA "Mortaritaville") was close to being overrun by AqI and then ISIS. Best facilities in Iraq, but absolutely the worst location: lots of Saddam's finest and most loyal pilots and troops and their families were located there. These jets would be far better off in Erbil - the airport there has one of the longest runways on the planet, and plenty of room for quick concrete buildings to go up as aircraft shelters and an operational air wing if they want to rebuild the Saddam-era stuff nearby. The area is very civilianized, but the airport is well away from the city. And the Kurds have kep the area pacified quite well, with a good civil economy. Makes too much sense, empowers the Kurds and nobody in the central government gets any boodle, so of course it will never happen. But that's where these jets should go if we want to see them operated, and not end up in Iran's airforce, or parted out by ISIS. As for arming the Kurds? About time - but are they giving them artillery? That will tell if they are finally serious. Send over some 105's and 155s and a pile of ammo, and a few firefinders for counterbattery - then I know were taking it seriously. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2015-06-17 15:47 |
| #7 well its worth it if we actually supply the Kurds too |
| Posted by: lord garth 2015-06-17 14:04 |
| #6 I see I'm not the only one that thinks these will be in the hands of our enemies by fall. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2015-06-17 09:41 |
| #5 So, Iran will be able to upgrade from F-14 tomcats to F-16s soon. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-06-17 08:47 |
| #4 I'll worry when they start shipping A2As. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-06-17 08:25 |
| #3 ...The good news is that even though the F-16 is a relatively 'simple' bird, ISIL will only be able to use them as high-tech paperweights. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2015-06-17 07:46 |
| #2 The deliveries were delayed at the end of last year because of attacks on the receiving base (Balad). |
| Posted by: Muggsy Crairong2940 2015-06-17 07:22 |
| #1 The DoD has to figure out which airbases are going to be overrun by ISIL at that time, so that the deliveries can be made to the 'right' places. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2015-06-17 07:16 |