Military of China, force comment.
Military of China, force comment.

Data for: U.S. Air Force F-16C fighter

newspaper correspondent roaring

According to the U.S. “The Wall Street Journal” reported on September 5, the Iraqi authorities forward the U.S. Buy 36 New F -16 fighters, the Air Force for the reconstruction of the country as the backbone. If the deal received approval from the U.S. government and military, it will be the end of the war in Iraq since the US-Iraq’s largest single amount of between sales contracts.

the most sophisticated weapons the Iraqi army will become

a Pentagon spokeswoman said the U.S. Department of Defense has officially received on August 27 in Iraq application. Authorities are in accordance with standard procedures for its foreign arms sales audit, and will be asked to provide a detailed quote. A little later, the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s commercial representative also confirmed the news.

F-16 was initially fighting as a daytime fighter designed to improve the process of gradually increasing the attack surface and surface targets. Aircraft in the past 30 years produced a total of more than 4400 aircraft, known as the most successful third-generation light fighter. Nowadays, the Permanent Mission of Iraq in more than 300 aircraft in U.S. military aircraft, F-16 accounted for a large proportion.

as balanced performance, relatively cheap, F-16 is also a popular commodity on the international arms market, has been sold to 25 countries and regions; only in the Middle East, the aircraft will have Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain, seven users.

Even so, the undone in terms of the Iraqi Air Force, F-16 is still the most complex and sophisticated weapons, fully formed combat take a few years. In about converting a new generation of F-35 fighter, Lockheed Martin’s eyes, the deal may be the last F-16 project profit opportunities; if including weapons and ammunition, personnel training and facilities for all the costs are included, each aircraft worth an estimated $ 100 million is huge.

purchase aircraft has multiple political significance

the first half of this year, the Iraqi government has purchased, including M1A1 main battle tanks, C-130 transport aircraft, including a large number of US-made arms, with a total value approaching $ 10 billion (see the newspaper on 22 August 07 edition of the relevant reports). Now, F-16 fighters have entered into their line of sight, which apparently contains a deeper political significance.

“This once again shows the Maliki government’s growing confidence in their army,” the U.S. Congress’s nonpartisan research center Kenny ska Postman Iraq expert, said: “There is no doubt that they are safe area to seek greater independence. “lack of advanced combat aircraft, Iraqi security forces in the implementation of anti-government militants,” cleaning up “, has been heavily dependent on U.S. air support. If the latest purchase of F-16 into combat as soon as possible, similar actions will give more flexibility.

U.S. arms sales to the mainstream public opinion on this with favor. On the one hand, to enhance the ability of Iraqi self-defense, on the hope that the U.S. withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible in terms of a positive signal, help the Pentagon to shift more troops to Afghanistan battlefield. On the other hand, because the F-16 is more popular in the Middle East, aircraft sales to Iraq, without causing suspicion surrounding countries.

course, in the discussion point, Iran is an exception. F-16′s existence, so that Baghdad can be a leader in a number of Russian-made fighter planes equipped with eastern neighbors in front of more emboldened.

U.S. foreign military sales has always been a tool to achieve its foreign policy, for different levels of allies, the United States in the provision of weapons is always on the level of the specifications are different. Based on the sensitivity of military aircraft technology, small number of people because of the uncertainty of the situation in Iraq and the security of the deal to worry about sexy. They argued that this group of F-16′s combat capability to certain restrictions, should weaken the bombing with precision-guided weapons, the ability to become a major controversial issue.