“I don’t know what Lockheed Martin will do,” Ricklefs said. One issue Iraq is currently grappling with is maintenance of its F-16 fighter fleet following Lockheed Martin’s announcement that it is withdrawing its maintenance teams for security reasons amid rocket attacks by militias. Russia also could try to sell Iraq systems that can augment armored mobility, fixed-wing multirole aircraft - 4.5-generation aircraft like the Su-35 and its derivatives - and continue to explore ways to offer Iraq options for layered air defense systems,” Nerguizian said. Russia has already sold a variant of its T-90S main battle tank, but the larger question of how Iraq can effectively maintain a mixed fleet of U.S.

“Iraq continues to operate Russian-sourced attack helicopters. and Coalition forces has now transitioned to one focused on training and advisory tasks, thereby allowing for the redeployment of any remaining combat forces from Iraq,” according to an April 7 statement issued after the bilateral talks, pointing to the “increasing capacity” of Iraqi security forces.Īram Nerguizian, senior adviser with the Program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Defense News that Russia could certainly play a role in upgrading or replacing some of Iraq’s aging systems. After 17 years of conflict, “the mission of U.S. forces entered Iraq in March 2003 to destroy alleged weapons of mass destruction reportedly owned by Baghdad, and American forces ousted the country’s leader, Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in April, during which the two countries agreed to embark on technical talks aimed at establishing a timeline for U.S. intent is for Iraq to build the capacity to defend itself.” “But any other Russian weapons system purchases will probably be examined on a case-by-case basis, noting that the main U.S. “Clearly the S-400 is a red line for the U.S.,” he said, referring to America sanctioning fellow NATO ally Turkey for purchasing the system. He told Defense News that there doesn’t appear to be negotiations for the purchase of the S-300 or Sukhoi aircraft, though the MoD did previously consider the two platforms.

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