Iraqi Air Force Totally Explained

Everything about The Iraqi Air Force totally explained

The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF (Arabic: Al Quwwa al Jawwiya al Iraqiya القوة الجوية العراقية) is the military branch in Iraq responsible for aerial operations. The IQAF also acts as a support force for the Iraqi Navy and the Iraqi Army.

History

The Royal Iraqi Air Force was founded on April 22, 1931. It was based at the airport in the Washash neighborhood of Baghdad, and consisted of five pilots (aeronautics students from the RAF college at RAF Cranwell), and 32 aircraft mechanics. The original five pilots were Natiq Mohammed Khalil al-Tay, Mohammed Ali Jawad, Hafdhi Aziz, Akrem Talib Mushtaq, and Musa Ali.
   The IQAF wasn't used in a combat role until being decimated in the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War, and then in 1948 in their war against the newly-created state of Israel.
   During the Six-Day War in June 1967, the Iraqi Air Force was badly mauled by an Israeli strike on one of its bases on the first day of the war. It bombed several air bases and land targets on the fifth day, and played a significant role in supporting Jordanian troops and destroying fighter planes which hadn't yet taken off. On June 6, Iraqi pilots destroyed two Israeli planes in air combat.
   During the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, Iraqi pilots ran the first airstrike against Israeli bases in Sinai, hitting artillery sites and Israeli tanks, and also claimed to have destroyed 12 Israeli fighters in air combat.

Persian Gulf War and no-fly zones

During the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi Air Force was devastated by the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies. Most airfields were heavily struck, and in air combat Iraq was only able to obtain one kill, while sustaining several losses. Five out of the six Tupolev Tu-22s that Iraq possessed were destroyed by bombing at the start of Operation Desert Storm.
   The MiG-25 force (NATO codename 'Foxbat') recorded the only Iraqi air-to-air kill during the war. A Mig-25PD shot down an American F/A-18 on the first night of the war. In another incident, an Iraqi Foxbat-E eluded eight American F-15s, firing three missiles at an EF-111 electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission. In yet another incident, two MiG-25's approached a pair of F-15 Eagles, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then out-ran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of ten air-to-air missiles were fired at the Foxbats; none of which could reach them.
   During the Persian Gulf War, many Iraqi pilots and aircraft (of Chinese, French & Soviet origin) escaped to Iran to escape the bombing campaign. The Iranians impounded these aircraft after the war and never returned them, putting them in the service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force - claiming them as reparations for the Iran-Iraq War.
   These included several: Mirage F1s, Su-17, Su-20 amd Su-22M Fitters, Su-24MK Fencer-Ds, Su-25K/UBK Frogfoots, MiG-21 Fishbeds, MiG-23 Floggers, MiG-25 Foxbats, MiG-29A/UB Fulcrums and a number of Il-76s, comprising the secretive, one-off AEW-AWACS prototype Il-76 "ADNAN 1"
   After the Gulf War, the air force was comprised of only a sole Tu-22 and several squadrons of MiG-25s purchased from the Soviet Union in 1979. During the period of sanctions that followed, the Air Force was severely restricted by no-fly zones established by the coalition and by restricted access to spare parts due to United Nations sanctions. Many aircraft were unserviceable and many were hidden from American reconnaissance to escape potential destruction. In patrols of the no-fly zones, three Iraqi MiGs were lost. Despite several attacks from U.S. F-15s and F-14s firing AIM-54 and AIM-120 missiles at the Iraqi fighters, the Iraqi maneouvres ensured they were able to avoid any casualties in their dispute over Iraqi airspace. Prior to Operation Desert Storm, ten Iraqi MiG-23 fighter aircraft had been sent to Yugoslavia to get overhauled, but the MiG's would never return because after Desert Storm a war in Yugoslavia had started.
   Their British-made Pilatus Britten-Norman Defenders were used for support work and transportation purposes. Mi-8, Mi-24, Gazelle, Alouette and Puma helicopters were used to counter the attempted Shi'ite and Kurdish revolts between 1992 and 1993.

Operation Iraqi Freedom - 2003

On the brink of the US invasion in 2003, Saddam Hussein disregarded his Air Force's wishes to defend the country's airspace against U.S. aircraft and ordered the bulk of his fighters disassembled or buried. Some were later found by US excavation forces around the Al Taqqadum and Al Asad air bases, including MiG-25s and SU-25s.

Air Force commanders

List incomplete

1985, Air Marshal Hamid Sha'aban(External Link

)

1990 Muzahim Hassan al-Tikriti

mid-1990s to 2003, Hamid Raja Shalah (External Link

)

2006 Kamal Barzanji (External Link

)

Current

The Iraqi Air Force, like all Iraqi forces after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, is being rebuilt as part of the overall programme to build a new Iraqi defence force. In December 2004, the Iraqi ministry of defence signed two contracts worth 132 million USD. The first contract was for the delivery of 20 PZL W-3 Sokół and the training of 10 Iraqi pilots and 25 maintenance personnel. They were intended to be delivered by November 2005, but in April 2005 the company charged with fulfilling the contract announced the delivery wouldn't go ahead as planned, supposedly because the delivery schedule proposed by PZL Swidnik wasn't good enough. As a result only 2 were delivered in 2005 for testing (All W-3 for Iraq are sold Polish Air Force). The second contract consisted of supplying the Iraqi air force with 24 second-hand (10 sold Polish Air Force), re-worked Mi-17 (Hip's). Currently, 8 have been delivered and 2 more are on their way shortly. The fleet of Hips are already operational.

   The Air Force primarily serves as a light reconnaissance and transport operation. On March 4, 2007, the IQAF carried out its first medical evacuation in the city of Baghdad when an injured police officer was airlifted to a hospital.
   In 2007, the USAF's Second Air Force, part of Air Education and Training Command, was given responsibility to provide curricula and advice to the Iraqi Air Force as it stands up its own technical training and branch specific basic training among others. This mission is known as "CAFTT" for Coalition Air Forces Training Team.
   It was reported in December of 2007 that a deal had been reached between the Iraqi government and Serbia for the sale of arms and other military equipment including 36 Lasta 95 basic trainers.

Order of battle

2nd Squadron – A helicopter airlift squadron operating sixteen UH-1H Huey helicopters donated by Jordan. The helicopters were refurbished and upgraded by the United States and delivered in 2006-2007.

3rd Squadron – A reconnaissance squadron operating 4 Cessna 208 Caravan reconnaissance aircraft, as well as a number of Beechcraft King Air 350 reconaissance aircraft.

4th Squadron – A helicopter airlift squadron operating 28 Mil Mi-17 helicopters.

12th Flight Training Squadron – A training squadron currently operating a variety of aircraft including Bell 206, Cessna 172, Cessna 208 and Beechcraft King Air 350

15th SOF Squadron – A helicopter squadron being formed specifically for the ISOF. The unit will eventually consist of 22 Mi-17-v5 helicopters.

23rd Squadron – An airlift squadron operating 3 ex-USAF C-130E Hercules transport aircraft.

70th Squadron – A reconnaissance squadron operating 7 CH-2000 light reconnaissance aircraft.

Aircraft Inventory

! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|

- | Cessna 172 Skyhawk || || utility/ basic training || || 4 || 12 to be delivered in 2008 |

- | Cessna 208 Caravan || || utility/ ground surveillance || Caravan ISR || 8 || |

- | Bell UH-1H Iroquois || || light-lift utility helicopter || Huey II || 16 |

- | Bell 206 JetRanger || || utility/ training helicopter || || 5 || 5 more to be delivered in 2008. |

- | SAMA CH2000 || || liaison || || 8 || 8 more to be delivered |

- | Lockheed C-130 Hercules || || tactical airlift/ transport || C-130E || 3 || |

- | Mil Mi-17 Hip-H ||
|| medium-lift transport helicopter || Mi-171

Mi-17-1V

Mi-17-v5 || 4

0 || 22 Mi-17v5 variants being purchased thru FMS for use by ISOF. Deliveries to begin in early 2009 |

- | Beechcraft King Air 350 || || light/ VIP transport || 350ER || 5 || 24 total to be delivered in 2008. |

- | Beechcraft King Air 350 || || surveillance and reconnaissance || 350ISR || 6 || 24 total to be delivered in 2008. |

- | CASA 212 || || light tactical transport || C-212-400 || 0 || Built by PamaSP in Brazil. 12 total aircraft expected to be delivered by end of 2008. |}

Unknown

Several pre-war types have been reported on inventory or in storage, though the conditions of such aircraft are unknown:
Combat Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |

- | Chengdu F-7 Airguard || || combat fighter || || 80 ||May possibly still be in service or in storage in case of future need. |

| Dassault Mirage F1 || || combat fighter || || 53 || |

- | Dassault Super Etendard || || combat fighter || || 5 || As reported, they were returned to France after the arrival of the first Mirage F1EQ-5 fighters. |} Training Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |

- | Aero L-29 Delfin || || trainer || || 20 || |

- | Aero L-39 Albatros || || trainer || || 59 || |} Transport Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |

- | Antonov An-2 Colt || || transport || || 10 || |

- | Antonov An-12 Cub || || transport || || 12 || |

- | Antonov An-24 Coke || / || transport || || 24 || |

- | Antonov An-26 Curl || || transport || || 2 || |} Helicopters ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |

- | Mil Mi-24 Hind || || attack helicopter || || ? || |

- | Mil Mi-8 Hip || || transport helicopter || || ? || |}

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