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| Iraq | |
| France offering Mirage fighters to Iraq | |
| 2011-01-28 | |
| France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage fighters to Iraq, which is already negotiating a deal for US F-16s to protect its skies after US forces pull out at the end of this year, the French ambassador said on Thursday. "France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage F1 retrofitted aircraft that can be delivered from late 2011 and immediately operational because many Iraqi pilots were trained in the past on this type of plane," Boris Boillon told AFP.
Baghdad has been negotiating to buy 18 US-made F-16s, and the cabinet on Wednesday authorised Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to negotiate the terms of the first payment on the contract, a statement said. Boillon said that, because of the price tag, the Mirage offer would not affect the F-16 deal. "This modest price will not affect the purchase of the US F-16s," he said. "This (Mirage) sale is in the context of a proposal on a comprehensive military air programme that France has submitted to this country," Boillon said. Iraq's government spokesman said Thursday that Baghdad welcomed any offer. "Iraq needs to build up its air force and that needs tens of fighters to protect its sovereignty, said Ali-al Dabbagh. "Any origin of high quality with good offer will be welcomed taking in consideration that we need to unify the source of arming if they fulfill Iraq's requirements," he said, without disclosing the cost of the F-16 deal. The Iraqi government "has submitted a letter of request for 18 F-16s and packages composed of spare parts, support equipment, weapons, logistics support and training," said Captain Dan Churchill, a US military spokesman in Iraq. "The delivery and cost of the aircraft will be dependent upon a finalised purchase, which has not yet happened," he said. In early September, General Michael Barbero, then deputy commander of US forces in Iraq, said the absence of a multi-role fighter limited Iraq's air capabilities. "They will not have the capability to provide air sovereignty, to fully protect the skies over Iraq, because they will lack a multi-role fighter," he said. Iraq's air force was destroyed during and after the 2003 US-led invasion. | |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #7 Ain't one of the Mirages a French version of the Israeli Kfir? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-01-28 19:56 |
| #6 I'd make sure there's a "destruct" charge for when a rogue shiite decides to fly one to Iran for reverse engineering |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-01-28 19:23 |
| #5 The Mirages would be very useful to the Iraqis and would help them with CAS while the F-16s are better for CAP. And they are only considering two major models at this time, which is a lot more rational approach than before. Besides which, we are not likely to sell them a bunch of Strike Eagles anytime soon. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-01-28 16:58 |
| #4 Actually, that wouldn't be a bad deal for the Iraqis. The M1 is a decent plane that could be used for some pretty good air-to-ground power. It is rugged, dependable and something that the Iraqi pilots and ground crews are already familiar with. Using it in a support role with F-16s doing top level work would be a good use of the aircraft. Plus, the M1s could pick off any enemy helicopters freeing up the F-16s for air-to-air, air-to-mud operations. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2011-01-28 16:25 |
| #3 For cash, oil, or grain they should be able to pick up some Egyptian F-16 at a very good price in a couple days or so. The cost to get them to fly probably will have to be negotiated with competent ground support suppliers. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-01-28 12:39 |
| #2 Never correct your enemy when he's making a mistake, and No we won't be in Iraq forever. Remember that while they're Grateful right now, They're still Islamic, Following a god that commands Murder of non-islamics, And we're not. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-01-28 11:51 |
| #1 ...Saddam had a bad habit of buying airplanes he didn't need because the people who sold those planes could really sell airplanes. That's why he had something like ten different types of birds in his tactical force, none of which complemented one another and none of which were available in sufficient numbers to use properly. Somebody needs to sit these folks down and explain to them that you get one or two types that compliment each other, not whatever the flavor of the week might happen to be. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-01-28 10:34 |