Concern over withdrawal of F-16 maintenance companies from Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi Joint Operations Command expressed concern on Tuesday over the withdrawal of companies dealing with the maintenance of F-16s fighting jets – described as the “backbone” of the Iraqi Air Force”.

"F-16s are very important as they are the backbone of the Iraqi Air Force in fighting terrorism," the spokesperson for the command, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, told state media.

“Companies working on the maintenance of these aircraft have a direct impact on the operations,” he added.

On Monday,  the New York Times reported that American contractor Lockheed Martin will be relocating its maintenance teams for Iraq's F-16 fighter jets out of the country, following multiple rocket attacks on Balad Air Base, the latest of which occurred on May 3. AFP also reported the withdrawal.

An Iraqi security official, who asked not to be named, told the New York Times that Lockheed Martin has 70 employees at Balad base. Fifty will be sent back to the US, and the rest to Erbil. The US contractor Sallyport is still working at the base, which does not host foreign troops.

Iraq purchased fighter jets F-16 in 2011, in a multibillion dollar deal with the US, following withdrawal of the US combat forces from the country. US troops returned in 2014 to help in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).

Lockheed Martin withdrew its personnel from Balad temporarily in 2020 after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian commander Qasem Sulaimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), prompting a spate of rocket attacks on Iraqi bases hosting US troops.

An investigation by Iraq Oil Report in August 2020 has found that out of 27 F-16’s, only “five jets are currently able to fly.”

The report claimed that the reason that the majority of the fighter jets are grounded is not only because of ‘US maintenance,” but also corruption.