• Military

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space
• Public Eye

Iraqi Air Force

Iraqi Army Air Corps

The Iraqi Army Air Corps was renamed the Iraqi Airforce.

The Iraqi Air Force's roles will include the policing of international borders and surveillance of national assets. Air capability will also allow Iraq to rapidly deploy its developing Army.

The Iraqi Army Air Corps will focus primarily on troop and logistics movements as well as air medivac for life-threatening and casualty-producing situations. As of January 2004 the CPA was training both helicopter and transport pilots, and planned to field the first operational squadrons in the summer of 2004.

The Iraqi Air Force will be an integral part of Coalition efforts, with its activities built into Coalition air plans and working closely with ground, maritime and air units to accomplish its mission. The Iraqi Air Force's roles will include the policing of international borders and surveillance of national assets. Air capability will allow Iraq to rapidly deploy its developing Army, and with over 3,500 miles of border, aviation is the only practical method of surveillance.

The Jordanian government offered a gift of 16 helicopters and two C-130 aircraft to augment the force.

The Iraqi Air Force's long-range tactical airlift capability was initially supported by two C-130B Hercules transport aircraft, which were to become operational in October 2004 and based at Baghdad Air Station. The fleet was to grow to six aircraft by April of 2005. Each Hercules is capable of transporting 92-troops or 42,000-pounds of freight over a distance of 2,000-miles. Each is manned by a crew of two pilots, a navigator, an air engineer and a loadmaster.

A five-man crew from Squadron 23 of the Iraqi Air Force trained for the first time on flying and operating an American C-130 cargo plane outside of Iraq's air space.

As of July 2005, the Iraqi Air Force was conducting operational missions while equipping and training. The Iraqi Air Force’s counterinsurgency missions focused on aerial observation /surveillance and air transportation. The Air Force had over 100 personnel and had a fleet of 9 helicopters (4 UH-1H and 5 Jet Ranger), 3 C-130s, and 8 single-engine propeller-driven observation airplanes (6 CompAir turboprop aircraft and 2 Seeker piston aircraft). An additional 12 UH-1H helicopters, part of the 16 given by the Jordanian government are not operational while they await an upgrade to Huey II configuration to enhance their functioning in Iraq's climate. The Jet Rangers, CH2000s and CompAir planes all need logistics support.

The United Arab Emirates contributed seven CompAir SL7, which are unarmed, to the Iraqi Air Force. They are used to patrol over oil pipelines and other infrastructure targeted by the Iraqi insurgency. On May 30, 2005, one of these planes crashed near the Iranian border killing one Iraqi Air Force pilot and four others from the US Air Force. There was no indication of hostile fire.

As of July 2005, the Air Force had about 400 personnel with CMATT plans to increase that number to 1500 by 2006. There were 19 Iraqi C-130 personnel being trained in the United States.Language training and flight training were being conducted at Al Ali Air Base. Crews had previously trained in Jordan on the UH-1H and Seeker.

On 09 February 2005 a crew of U.S. Air Force pilots used a five-hour round-trip flight to Amman, Jordan as a training exercise for the Iraqi pilots and crew members. Five other crews from Squadron 23, of Ali Base in Talil, Iraq, were passengers on the flight, heading to training in Jordan. One crew will continue traveling to the U.S. for Hercules simulator training in Little Rock, AR. All of the squadron members are experienced crews who are strengthening and expanding their skills after a 12-year lapse under Saddam Hussein's rule. This was their first time in the seats of a C-130. The next phase of training will focus on dealing with emergencies, approaches and landings, and general flying skills.

Two days after their first training flight on a C-130 cargo plane, a crew from an Iraqi Air Force squadron were back in the cockpit Feb. 12 for their first mission: flying Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi round trip from Baghdad to As Sulaymaniwah West. The Iraqi pilot who flew the aircraft described the mission as a great honor, one he was grateful to participate in. Allawi arrived at the landing zone by helicopter and quickly greeted the Squadron 23 crew as he boarded the cargo plane.

A squadron of six UH-1H Iroquois helicopters was slated to become operational in July 2004 and stationed at Tadji Air Base. This fleet was to increase to sixteen Iroquois by April of 2005. Each is manned by two pilots and capable of carrying 13-troops at 120-knots over a 180-mile range. Its main tasks are border and coastal patrol, troop transport and search and rescue duties.

On 01 February 2005 Iraqi air force officials welcomed the arrival of the First two UH-1H Huey helicopters yesterday to Taji Air Base. The completely refurbished helicopters provide airlift support and important troop moving capabilities for the growing Iraqi air force command. Gifted from Jordan, this is the first of a series of scheduled deliveries to occur during the next year. A total of sixteen UH-1H aircraft are slated to arrive in Iraq by February 2006. The Iraqi flag is displayed on the fuselage of both aircraft.

According to Wing Commander Rad Greene, Royal Air Force, "It is an exciting time for the Iraqi air force as they reenter the world of rotary wing aviation." Iraqi air force officials are genuinely excited about the prospect of operating these new aircraft, Greene said. The first eight aircraft will comprise Squadron 2 and the second eight aircraft will become Squadron 4, both based at Taji.

As of February 2005 a total of 14 Iraqi pilots are fully trained and are awaiting additional flight instruction from their U.S. advisory support team (AST) pilots. Flight training will continue for the next several months until all 48 Iraqi pilots are certified. In the meantime, maintenance training will commence for the engineers and ground crews.

A squadron of light reconnaissance aircraft became operational in the summer of 2004, with four aircraft at Basrah and expanding later, possibly to Kirkuk. This fleet will be tasked with infrastructure and border security duties - reporting problems directly to the appropriate repair and intervention units.

As of August 2004 the Iraqi air force consisted of some 162 servicemen and was slated to reach its initial goal of 502 trained personnel by December 2004.