Free Republic

At this point, it is impossible for the Iraqi Air Force to field a credible air defense prior to 2018-2020. Any delays in delivery or training, reductions in funding, or failures to develop the base infrastructure will make the eventual achievement of a credible air defense even later. The combined forces of the Iraqi Air Force and Iraqi Army Air Corps are only recon, transport, training and support groups [wings]. It is one of the weakest air forces in the Middle-East – on par with Lebanon’s Air Force. Until ~2016, when they might reach parity with Kuwait’s small Air Force,...

BASRAH — Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) personnel assigned to Basrah Air Base now have a new compound to call home thanks to a $1.9 million project overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Gulf Region Division (GRD). “If I use all the words, they won’t be enough to express my great thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their work helping us build the Iraqi Air Force’s capacity not only in Basrah province, but in the whole country,” said Staff Gen. Anwer Hamd Ameen, commander of the IqAF, during his April 14 visit to the Air...