Four Years After an ISIS Massacre, the Iraqi Air Force Opens a New Academy

Cessna 172 Skyhawks and 208 Caravans used by U.S. Air Force and Iraqi air force instructor pilots to train Iraqi students seen at Kirkuk in July 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo)

On Feb. 21, 2018, the Iraqi government announced that the Iraqi air force had reopened its academy at Balad air base. U.S. Central Command announced that the Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team will help establish standardized training programs. Forty cadets will start their coursework in March 2018.

Before June 2014, the academy was located at Combat Outpost Speicher in Tikrit. Between June 11 and 14, Islamic State insurgents captured the outpost — and the academy — and killed no fewer than 1,500 Shia air force cadets. Cadet training transferred to Al Kut air base in 2015.

The recent history of Iraqi air force training is a complicated one. Iraqi pilot cadets have undergone instruction in Iraq with U.S. trainers, in Jordan and in Pakistan. The current reforms could bring student pilots home to Iraq.

Four Years After an ISIS Massacre, the Iraqi Air Force Opens a New Academy - Baghdad wants to standardize training

Iraq’s Chinese-Made Killer Drones Are Actually Pretty Good

On Feb. 12th, 2018, the Iraqi ministry of defense released a video depicting its Chinese-made CH-4B armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The brief report underscores the type’s success in Iraqi service.

The video claims that the CH-4B drones have executed most of their attack and reconnaissance missions in northwest Iraq. Since their entry into operational service, they have performed no fewer than 260 air strikes against Islamic State targets, with a success rate close to 100 percent.

Iraq ordered its CH-4Bs from China in 2014, probably after the visit to Iraq by the Chinese foreign minister in February of that year. The CH-4 is inspired by the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and is designed by China Aerospace Long March International.

Iraq’s Chinese-Made Killer Drones Are Actually Pretty Good - CH-4Bs have proved effective against Islamic State

My publications for December 2017

This month, in the latest issue of the "Avions de Combat" magazine, I am pleased to sign an article about the Battle of Fallujah, an Iraqi city that could not have been liberated without the air support of the coalition, particularly the Royal Air Force, which had already been widely engaged in the battle of Ramadi. In issue 358 of "Air Forces Monthly", my usual "Flashpoint" is dedicated to the Battle of Marawi. I look at the development of the Philippine Air Force’s offensive capabilities and how these were put to use in the recently concluded campaign to liberate the city.

Ce mois-ci, dans le dernier numéro du magazine "Avions de combat", je suis heureux de signer un article sur la bataille de Fallouja, une ville irakienne qui n'aurait pu être libérée sans le soutien aérien de la coalition, en particulier la Royal Air Force, qui avait déjà été largement engagée dans la bataille de Ramadi. Dans le numéro 358 de "Air Forces Monthly", mon "Flashpoint" habituel est dédié à la Bataille de Marawi. Je me penche sur le développement des capacités offensives de l'armée de l'air philippine et comment elles ont été utilisées dans la campagne récemment terminée pour libérer la ville.

Iraq got F-16s in summer 2015 and immediately started bombing ISIS

On Sept. 5, 2017,  Iraqi air force major Noor Faleh Al Khuzai died in the crash of his F-16 fighter during a training flight in Arizona. This is the second F-16IQ the Iraqi air force has lost in Arizona. On June 25, 2015, F-16C serial number 1609 crashed, killing its pilot Brig. Gen. Rafid Mohammad Hassan.

In January 2011, Iraq signed a contract worth $3 billion for 18 F-16C/D Block 52 fighters — 12 single-seat F-16Cs and six two-seat F-16Ds — for delivery between 2014 and 2015.

In March 2012, the first Iraqi F-16 pilot graduated from Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training in the United States. In October that year, Iraq ordered 18 more F-16s.

On May 2, 2014, the first Iraqi F-16IQ — F-16D serial number 1601 — made its maiden flight at Forth Worth, Texas, followed by official delivery to Iraq on June 5. The first two aircraft, 1601 and 1602, went to Tucson International Airport, home of the U.S. Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing, which trains Iraqi pilots.

Iraq Got F-16s in Summer 2015 and Immediately Started Bombing ISIS - The 9th Fighter Squadron wasted no time

How Iraq Makes Combat Pilots

During the occupation that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, most Iraqi combat aircraft — MiG-23s, MiG-25s and Su-25s — were discovered by coalition forces in poor condition on various air bases, while others were discovered buried outside their bases or in nearby towns and villages where they had been abandoned.

Most IrAF aircraft were destroyed during and after the invasion, and any remaining materiel was discarded in the immediate aftermath of the war. No aircraft acquired during the era of Saddam Hussein would be retained in service by the new Iraqi air arms.

How Iraq Makes Combat Pilots

Iraqi secret Intelligence Service aircraft revealed

On May 10, 2017, a ceremony took place at Al Muthana air base in Iraq in the presence of Iraqi air force commander Gen. Anwar Hamad Amin. In the background of photos taken that day, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter with an Iraqi flag on the tail is visible.

The presence of this DHC-6 is surprising because no such aircraft has been reported as having been delivered to Iraq. According to sources War Is Boring agreed not to name, this airplane arrived in Iraq in secrecy in 2014 and is currently being used by the Iraqi intelligence service.

We’ve Spotted Some Secret Iraqi Spy Planes

New loss for Iraqi Army Aviation in the battle of Mosul

Iraqi Army Aviation has lost a Bell IA-407 on 13 May in western Mosul near Al-Qayrawan region. The pilots managed to land safely in a PMU (Popular Mobilization Units) base after being hit by ground fire and later evacuated. This is the second Bell IA-407 down in five weeks. Previous one was down on 6 April in Al-Muhandisin district of Mosul city. A Mi-35 crashed near Baiji on 4 January and another Bell IA-407 was lost in Mukeshefah area North of Samarra at 140 km north of Baghdad on 29 October 2016. Seven Bell helicopters were captured, crashed or shot down in three years of fighting against Islamic State.

Iraqi Army Aviation Mi-35M crashed near Baiji

An Iraqi Army Aviation Mi-35M crashed near Baiji this morning killing the four crew members : Pilot Mojtaba Kazazi Hilal, Lieutenant Hussein Kamel, Joey Omar Arif, Weapons technician Jabbar. The 35th Attack Squadron of Iraqi Army Aviation lost four others Mi-35M before, one crashed at Al-Saqlawiyah near Fallujah on 16 June 2014 and another was shot down on 3 October 2014 by a FN-6 MANPADS between Baiji and al-Senniyah. On 4 November, a pilot managed to make an emergency landing after beeing wounded by ground fire west of Ramadi. The helicopter and its crew were safe. On 22 August 2015, Mi-35M serial “YI-361” has made an emergency landing in a safe area west of Samarra after hit a power line. The crew was wounded and the helicopter suffered damages after starting to burn. On 4 April 2016, another Hind crashed near al-Kut airbase injuring the two crew members. On mid-2013, a contract was signed for an order of 28 Mi-35M and fifteen Mi-28NE helicopters. Twenty units have been already delivered into five batches of four : first in November 2013, the last on 26th August 2015. The fifteen remaining helicopters are in service with 35th Attack Squadron.

Fighting are tough for Iraqi helicopter pilots

Iraq’s war on Islamic State has taken a heavy toll on the Iraqi army’s helicopter crews. And the battle of Mosul that began in October 2016 has only increased the pressure on the young aviation force, which formed with American assistance in 2007.

Many of the Iraqi army’s chopper crews fly from Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan and Qayyarah airfield south of Mosul. The force suffered its latest loss on Oct. 29, 2016, when a Bell IA-407 belonging to the army’s 21 Squadron crashed in the Mukeshefah area north of Samarra.

We spoke to two pilots who’ve been fighting ISIS for more than two years.

Iraqi Army Chopper Pilot — ‘The Fighting Must Continue!’

Iraqi Army Aviation Bell IA-407 crashed North of Samarra

An Iraqi Army Aviation Bell IA-407 belonging to 21st Armed Reconnaissance Squadron crashed in Mukeshefah area North of Samarra at 140 km north of Baghdad on Saturday 29 October. The two crew members, pilot Hussein Ali Kadhim and First Lieutenant Ali Hafez were killed. This is the fifth Bell IA-407 lost in more than two years. One was captured at al-Mosul when Islamic States militants have taken the base on 9 June 2014. On 8 October 2014,  Capt Haidar Hamad Jaber and Capt Yazan Mohammed Abdel-Rahman al-Lami were KIA when their helicopter was shot down by FN-6 MANPADS near Baiji during support mission for a Mi-17. On 28 September 2015, Bell IA-407 serial number 'YI-125' was hit by ground fire and crash-landed west of COB Speicher. The crew was rescued by an EC635. On 17 February 2016, Maj Ahmed Nehru and 1st Lt Oumid were KIA when their helicopter was shot down near Amiriyat Al-Fallujah.

Update 4 Nov. 2016 : according to my colleague Marco Dijkshoorn, this Bell IA-407 was serial number 'YI-137' and may have belonged to 22nd Armed Reconnaissance Squadron, not 21st.

How many Su-25s operational in Iraqi AIr Force ?

A Sept. 2, 2016 analysis of satellite imagery from July seems to confirm that the Iraqi air force — the IqAF — maintains 21 Su-25 Frogfoot attack jets at Al Rashid air base.

According to the website Offiziere, the space-based photo suggests that two shipments of the rugged, twin-engine Su-25s — Russia’s answer to America’s A-10 Warthog — have occurred since the beginning of 2016.

Offiziere is wrong. But here’s how the website understandably arrived at that incorrect conclusion.

Let’s Account for All of Iraq’s Tank-Busting Jets - Counting Baghdad’s Su-25s is tricky business

SIGINT and reco missions over Iraq - warning Mig-25

53-BZ  with UN markings inflight during operation TARPAN in 2003

(Credit photo Adj Trestard, ERS 1/91)

In April 1992, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 688, calling on Baghdad to cease its crackdown on Iraq’s rebellious Shia majority and “ensure that the human and political rights of all Iraqi citizens are respected.”

Operation Southern Watch, the U.S.-led coalition effort to patrol the air space over southern Iraq, began that August. Its goal — to protect the Shia in line with Resolution 688.

But as French pilots soon discovered, the Iraqi air force didn’t just roll over and let coalition planes operate unopposed over Iraqi territory.

Warning — MiG-25!

Iraqi Air Force uses transports as auxiliary bombers

On July 17, 2016, the first photo appeared on social media depicting an Iraqi air force An-32B Cline transport aircraft carrying a bomb on an external pylon. It’s not the first time that transport aircraft have pulled double duty as bombers.

The Iraqi Air Force Just Got New Bomber Planes — By Arming Transports

My publication in July

This month, I published three articles in August issue of Combat Aircraft Monthly. Foremost, two short items in World News section about the second Iraqi 'Vipers' batch that began test flights and one of the two Libyan Mirage F1ED returned to sevice and finally lost. The major item is a Combat Report on operation 'Breaking Terrorism', the battle for the recovery of Fallujah in the hands of Islamic State since January 2014.

Who was really involved in the ISIS convoy attacks near Fallujah ?

On 30 June, 2016, the Ministry of Defense in Baghdad announced an attack on a big convoy of Islamic State fighters moving out of Fallujah.

During the night of June 28 and 29, someone destroyed most of this convoy — around 260 vehicles — and killed as many as 750 militants.

Later during the day, the spokesman for the coalition Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve announced that it took part in these air strikes — but Iraqis sources denied that claim.

Who was really involved and what was the actual target? I asked Iraqi military pilots. And what they told me contradicted the coalition’s official story.

Iraqis and Americans Butted Heads Over the ISIS ‘Convoy Massacre’

First new ‘VIPER’ from second Iraqi batch

The two first F-16C/D Fighting Falcon of the second batch of ‘Viper’ ordered by Iraq, started tests flight at NAS Fort Worth. These two units are F-16D serial number 1619/13-0032 and F-16C serial number 1621/13-0016.

On 12 December 2011 the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the Iraqi government’s request to purchase 18 F-16C/D Block 52 fighters (12 single-seat F-16Cs and six two-seat F-16Ds) and associated equipment, parts, weapons, training and logistical support at an estimated cost of USD2.3 billion. In October 2012, 18 more F-16C/Ds (12 F-16Cs and six F-16Ds) were ordered for delivery between 2017 and 2018, to equip a second squadron.

The first unit of the second group of 18 F-16s for the Iraqi Air Force , F-16D #1619 is seen launching on a test flight at NAS Fort Worth on 25th March, 2016. (Copyright : Keith Snyder)

My publications in May

This month, I published an article in May-June issue of DSI Magazines about airpower during the seconde Libyan civil war. I describe the order of battle of the two air forces : LNA AF (Libyan National Army Air Force) in the side of Tobruk government, recognized by international authorities, and LDAF (Libya dawn Air Force) in the side of Tripoli government and Fajr Libya militias. I also contributed to Combat Aircraft Monthly in the "News world" chapter with a short article on the Su-25s delivered to Iraq. Ce mois-ci, j'ai publié un article dans le numéro de mai-Juin de DSI Magazines au sujet de la puissance aérienne durant la seconde guerre civile libyenne . J'y décris l'ordre de bataille des deux forces aériennes: LNA AF (Libyan National Army Air Force) du côté du gouvernement Tobrouk, reconnue par les instances internationales, et LDAF (Libya dawn Air Force) du côté du gouvernement de Tripoli et les milices de Fajr Libya . J'ai aussi contribué aux actualités dans Combat Aircraft Monthly avec un court article à propos des derniers Su-25 livrés à l'Iraq.

New Aero Vodochody L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft for Iraqi Air Force

Yesterday took place the ceremony of the 85th anniversary of the foundation of Iraqi Air Force. Most of the types of aircraft in service participated to the air show organized on this occasion including the Aero Vodochody L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircrafts. Two of them overflew the runway after three F-16IQs, followed by three Cessna-208 Caravans. But one L-159 was seen in static position (see photo below). This single-seater aircraft carries serial number "5905" (previous serials were "5903" and "5904"). According to AeroHisto blog sources, this delivery was not officially reported (included within IqAF pilots). On 26th March, Iraqi Air Force Commander, Gen Amin announced that second batch of L-159s would arrive in April and the third batch, three months later or less.

Last November, the first two L-159s arrived at Balad airbase. In 2014, Iraqi government signed a new agreement with Aero Vodochody for the supply of twelve L-159 light fighters.

Special thanks to Ra'is Urafa Fayli

Iraqi Air Force finally received four Su-25s from Russia

Contrary to what spokesman of the Ministry of defence (Dr. Naseer Nouri Mohamed Al Tamimi) in a press release said yesterday, Iraqi Air Force did not received three, but four new Su-25s "Frogfoot" (three single-seaters and one two seaters) from Russia as the photos below show.

Update 21st April 2016 : The dual-seater serial "2501" is not a former Iranian aircraft. He was already spotted last October and was not part of the last delivery. The former user is not known ...

Iraq received three new Su-25s from Russia

Spokesman of the Ministry of defence (Dr. Naseer Nouri Mohamed Al Tamimi) in a press release of the Ministry's information centre announced the arrival of three new Sukhoi jets (Su-25), under contract with the Federal Republic of Russia, and tons of materiel (light, medium and heavy) from various global sources.