Iraqi Air Force Soars to New Heights in Recent Months

[unhappycamper]

Iraqi Air Force Soars to New Heights in Recent Months
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2007 – Iraq’s air force has added unprecedented personnel and aircraft in recent months and undertaken crucial missions, the commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said today in Baghdad.

“Six months ago, there was no air force academy for the Iraqi air force, there was no technical training school, there was no basic training school for enlisted people,” Air Force Brig Gen. Bob Allardice told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq. “But in the last six months, we've graduated and commissioned second lieutenants in their air force.”

~snip~

In 1991, Iraq’s air force was the sixth largest in the world, the general explained. But in the course of Operation Desert Storm, during which coalition forces pushed Saddam Hussein’s troops out of Kuwait, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq’s air force was obliterated.

~snip~”

Rebuilding Iraq’s air force began only recently, the general explained, with the first serious efforts undertaken in 2005.

~snip~

In 2006, 16 Iraqi aircraft performed only about 30 “relatively benign” sorties a week, Allardice said.

“The Iraqi air force today has about 1,200 people,” he said. “They have about 51 aircraft. They are flying 180 sorties a week, and their missions are very impressive.”


Rest of spin at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47331



uhc comment: I thought the Iraqi Air Force was eliminated when L. Paul Bremer canned the Iraqi military in 2003.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0C16FC3F5F0C758CDDA00894DF404482 :shrug:

[ewoden]

1. well. . .

We completely obliterated the Iraqi Air Force, whFwere sweeping up the offices so no demobilization had much of an effect in '03. Rebuilding it, with fresh US manufactured equipment has been an absolute bonanza for US weapons industry! After all that was why we fight these days, for the weapons industry.