The Pentagon’s Defense and Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress this week of the possible sale of 18 F-16s to the Iraqi government.
The package would involve the F-16IQs and a host of weapons. Among them are 19 20mm Vulcan Cannons, 100 Sidewinder missiles, 150 Sparrow missiles, 50 Maverick Air-to-Ground missiles and 200 BGU-12 Paveway II laser guided bombs.
The DSCA put the total value of the Foreign Military Sales package, along with training and logistical support, at $2.3 billion. The arrangement was announced during Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s visit to the White House on Monday.
The U.S. Air Force last week announced it had awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] an $835-million contract for a batch of 18 F-16s that had been previously announced, lifting the number of sales of the fighters to Iraq to 36. Final delivery of the first batch is expected to take place in 2018.
President Barack Obama said during the meeting with al-Maliki that the United States remains committed to Iraq’s defense as the U.S. military prepares to withdraw by the end of this year.
“We’ve got to train their pilots and make sure that they’re up and running and that we have an effective Iraqi Air Force,” Obama said.
Al-Maliki said Iraq’s Air Force was destroyed in previous conflicts and that American support to reconstitute it was essential.
“Definitely, we have raised the issue of an Iraqi need for weapons for area protection and ground protection,” al-Maliki said through an interpreter.