F-16IQ Status

[basher54321]

Not sounding that good really.

Iraq’s vaunted F-16 fighter jet program has fallen into such disarray that pilots can no longer fly combat missions against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group – a collapse in military capacity that highlights a broader degradation of the country's security relationship with the U.S. and the effects of pervasive corruption.

In over a dozen interviews with Iraq Oil Report, Iraqi officials and U.S. contractors detailed several criminal schemes and failures of oversight at the Balad Airbase, north of Baghdad, where the jets are housed. Their allegations raise serious questions about the working practices of both the Iraqi Air Force and Sallyport Global Services, the U.S. contractor responsible for providing the base with food, sleeping quarters, security, and fuel supplies.

Published Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

https://www.iraqoilreport.com/news/iraq ... ase-42995/

One U.S. official familiar with the F-16 program told Foreign Policy the “biggest concern” is securing the F-16’s sensitive technology. “We just have absolutely no way to verify what they are looking at, what they’re carrying away,” the official said.

“Right now, at Balad, there’s nothing. There’s no U.S. personnel at all providing security,” the official told Foreign Policy. “As far as the technology, once that’s compromised, that’s compromised and there’s nothing we can do,”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/30/f1 ... aq-threat/

JANUARY 30, 2020

[nigelt]

Pathetic

[basher54321]

Iraqi F-16s log first combat mission since return of contractor support
by Gareth Jennings 18 NOVEMBER 2020

Iraqi Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons have undertaken their first combat operation since the recent return to the country of contractors who had been evacuated earlier in the year.

Iraq has 34 F-16s, a large proportion of which had in effect been grounded throughout much of 2020 as US contractor support was withdrawn for varying reasons. With that support now returning to the country, the Iraqi Air Force and US CENTCOM have logged a strike mission for the type against the Islamic State group.

Both the Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on 17 November that an undisclosed number of F-16s had participated in air strikes against the Islamic State group north of the capital Baghdad.

“Iraqi F-16 fighter jets carried out air raids against [Islamic State] safe houses in al-Zour area, Diyala,” CENTCOM said. “The mission reflects the growing capabilities of the Iraqi Air Force in fighting terror to maintain the hard-fought victories over [the Islamic State].”

News of the raid came days after Janes first reported the return of US F-16 support personnel to Iraq in September. As noted in the latest US Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’ published in early November, “A combination of threat levels in the region and impacts of Covid-19 prevented contractors from directly supporting Iraq’s F-16 programme since early 2020.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... or-support

[edpop]

And with more troops going home base security will be sacrificed.

[basher54321]

Report: Militia Threats Forced U.S. Contractors to Leave Iraqi F-16 Base
May 4, 2021

Iranian-backed militias have focused attacks on key bases in Iraq, prompting U.S. contractors to leave the Iraqi Air Force’s major F-16 base as the country’s Fighting Falcons are working to increase their capacity to train and conduct airstrikes, according to a new report.

The militias continued to conduct harassment-style attacks on the U.S. Embassy, diplomatic facilities, and installations such as Balad Air Base, according to the Defense Department’s Lead Inspector General for Operation Resolute Support in a quarterly report released May 4. Balad does not host U.S. service members, but it does host contractors from Lockheed Martin who are critical to supporting Iraqi F-16 operations.

These contractors were forced to leave the base in March “due to security threats,” the IG report states. The situation comes after a tumultuous 2020, during which contractors at times could not directly support Iraqi F-16s at the base because of a “combination of regional threats and the impact of COVID-19,” the IG’s previous quarterly report states.

https://www.airforcemag.com/report-mili ... VE.twitter

Iraq’s F-16s Grounded After U.S. Contractor Pulls Maintenance Crews

May 10, 2021, 10:31 a.m. ET

The decision by Lockheed Martin, after repeated rocket attacks, highlights the Iraqi government’s failure to rein in militia groups.

BAGHDAD — Lockheed Martin said Monday that it was withdrawing its maintenance teams for Iraq’s F-16 fighter jets for security reasons, as the Iraqi government struggles to end rocket attacks by militias suspected of being backed by Iran.

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The decision by Lockheed Martin is expected to ground the few remaining F-16s from Iraq’s fleet that were still operational. That is casting doubt on Iraq’s ability to fight Islamic State militants without substantial U.S. help, at a time when Mr. Kadhimi is under pressure to negotiate a withdrawal of all American forces.

“In coordination with the U.S. government and with employee safety as our top priority, Lockheed Martin is relocating our Iraq-based F-16 team,” Joseph LaMarca Jr., a company vice president for communications, said in a statement.

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A senior ministry official, who asked not to be identified so as to speak openly, confirmed that Martin Lockheed was withdrawing the team because of repeated rocket attacks on the base. He said that efforts to persuade the company to stay had failed.

“We asked them to delay the decision,” the official said. “They told us, ‘We will leave for two or three months, and when you provide protection we will return to Iraq.’”

“Unfortunately, the departure will affect the operation of the F-16s,” he said.

Iraqi officials say they are continuing talks with Iran-backed militias to try to persuade them to halt the attacks on Balad as well as other U.S. targets in central Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Some of the attacks are believed to have been carried out by proxies of the main groups, which have denied responsibility.


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“The lack of experts to maintain aircraft according to the agreement signed with the American companies when buying them is a problem,” he said. “Some of these companies withdrew from Iraq due to irrational actions and the missile attack on Balad Air Base.”

It was not clear whether Mr. Kadhimi was referring to the latest rocket attack on May 3, targeting the Balad compound of another U.S. military contractor, Sallyport. No casualties were reported in that attack, but local employees of some Iraqi contractors have been killed and wounded.

Iraq was forced to ground most of its F-16s last year because of poor maintenance, caused partly by a previous withdrawal of Lockheed Martin crews.


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/worl ... &smtyp=cur

[viperimages]

Yet another blow to the program

[Fox1]

You can't make an apple pie from horse turds. Nor can you create a competent, westernized military with Iraqis. You can provide them with M1 Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter jets, but you can expect them to provide the same results as if they were still flying the MiG-23 and driving around the desert in monkey model T-72 tanks. It is just who they are.

[madrat]

Maybe they can trade F-16IQ to someone that can maintain them. What they need is a rugged and disposable airframe that can collect dust for cheap.

[edpop]

The End Of Iraq’s F-16 Fleet Is A Real Possibility As Lockheed Contractors Prepare To Leave
Without U.S. technicians, the fall from grace of the Iraqi Air Force’s Viper fleet could be complete.

he saga of the Iraqi Air Force’s troubled Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Viper fighter jet fleet has taken another turn for the worse, with the announcement that manufacturer Lockheed Martin is to withdraw its maintenance teams supporting the jets from the country. The move has been taken amid continuing concerns for the safety of foreign contractors working on behalf of Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias are still waging a campaign of violence.

[...]

Read more: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4 ... e-to-leave

[darkmount]

The status of the Iraqi F16s is dire, and it's not only about the maintenance issue, but the Iraqi Falcons are among the most poorly equipped F16s in the world.

That includes their outdated avionics
APG-68v9
ALQ-187v2 EW

And their lack of advanced weapons

no AIM-120
no AIM-9x
no JASSM
no Harpoon/SLAM-ER
no HARM
no JDAM


So the Iraqi F16s only carry Paveway bombs along with AIM-9L/M and AIM-7 for protection.
As a result, Iraq has only used them for counter-terrorism operations, but honestly, if they are going to use F16s against some terrorists holding AKs then those F16s ain't doing much better than what their FA-50 can do.

And if I were the Iraqi president, I would happily donate all the Iraqi Falcon fleets to Ukraine and receive new vipers (Block 70) in exchange, but our country has no real ties with the West, which is unfortunate, especially considering the enormous amount of resources it has.

[viper187]

How the tables turned!

Iraq’s F-16 Fleet Surges In Importance Thanks In Part To War In Ukraine
A lack of parts for Russian-made combat aircraft has helped Iraq’s F-16IQs become its ‘most reliable shooters,’ according to a new report.

Iraq's F-16IQ Viper fighter jets armed with laser-guided bombs have become the country's most reliable platforms for carrying out airstrikes against ISIS terrorists, according to the Pentagon. This is at least in part due to a shortage of spare parts for Iraq's Russian-made Mi-28 Havoc and Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters as a result of the war in Ukraine. U.S. and Iraqi authorities are now also looking into the possibility of modernizing the F-16IQ's notoriously limited air-to-air capabilities.

[...]

Read more at: https://www.twz.com/iraqs-f-16-fleet-su ... in-ukraine