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Iraqi Air Force to buy 12 JF-17 Thunder Block II fighters from Pakistan
JF-17 Thunder
Pakistan Air Force
Shimin Gu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rafael Ramos
9/27/2021
According to Iraqi media, the government has decided to purchase 12 units of JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan. Local media reported on the deal on Saturday, 25. the West Asian country is the first Islamic Arab country to buy fighter jets from Pakistan. The contract is expected to be signed in Islamabad, still in October, in the amount of $664 million.
Iraq had already shown interest in acquiring the jets jointly developed by Pakistan and China. In May, Iraq's Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Juma Inad Saadoun, had already met Pakistani leaders on their interest in fighter jets and, last month, General Nadeem Raza, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from Pakistan, went to Baghdad to discuss the defense agreement.
Pakistan demonstrated the fighter's capabilities at the 2021 Iraq International Defense Exhibition (IQDEX 2021), and Iraq's defense leaders were impressed. The exhibition took place in April of last year and seems to have been the moment when the Iraqis decided to purchase the more advanced version Block III.
Other countries have also shown interest in acquiring the model, such as Argentina, which supposedly would acquire 12 units of Pakistan's JF-17A Block III for the same amount proposed to Iraq. This information was denied by Argentina, which said it had released the budget, but without confirmation of which aircraft would be chosen. Malaysia is also considering acquiring the jets.
JF-17 Thunder
Pakistan Air Force
MilborneOne, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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