Will Operate Alongside US Equipment
The Iraqi Air Force (IAF) is showing off its newest equipment at
New Al Murthana Air Base. The Mil Mi-17 helicopters are brand new,
with zero hours, and are being delivered, up to four at a time, by
Russian Antonov-124 transports. Four were delivered on February 14,
four more on the 17th, and two more are coming. In all, 24 are
expected to be acquired by mid-2007.
The aircraft were acquired from Poland, and the Poles will
provide a year of support and flight and ground crew training,
which may be all that's necessary because the nation operated the
similar Mi-8 before. The Iraqis proudly indicate that this is the
first aircraft system that was acquired directly by the new Iraq,
with no input from the Coalition.
Other utility and cargo helicopters were considered, but none
had the Mi-17s blend of low cost and high performance. The
helicopter is larger than a Huey or Black Hawk, with rear clamshell
cargo doors. (It can be flown with doors off for missions like
paratroop training).
The versatile helicopter can lift almost 9,000 lbs of cargo, 20
troops, or 20 litter patients. The Iraqis have also acquired a
couple in VIP configuration. It handles the Iraq density altitudes
(do some calculations for 2,000 feet MSL and 130 degrees F) with
aplomb. Aero-News has spoken several times to Western pilots and
crew chiefs who transitioned to the Mil, and they universally
praise the robust machine, particularly for reliability and
maintainability.
A US military report says that the Office of the IAF Director of
Engineering "chose the Mi-17 because it was simple, capable and had
been flown by Iraq in the past." However, with most of the Air
Force grounded between 1991 and 2004, many pilots are rusty -- or
retired.
While most media
reported that the Iraqi military was "thrown into unemployment,"
former Coalition Provisional Authority director Ambassador Paul
Bremer said Friday on the Tod Feinberg radio show that was not
true; while the privates, mostly Shiite draftees, just walked off
the job and went home, the officers were pensioned by the CPA "and
the pension was calculated to be a little higher that what they'd
have made if they continued to retirement."
Iraq couldn't keep all the officers for the new military.
"Saddam's Army was huge," said Bremer. "It was the size of the US
Army." (The unspoken background to Bremer's statement: Iraq has
just over 26 million inhabitants, according to the CIA World
Factbook; the US has 298 million, according to the US Census
Bureau).
But some retired officers are being recalled, and new officers
will join them for training on the Mi-17s. When the cadre of the
unit have been trained, they will move to Taji Air Base for a
permanent duty station. Iraqi leaders are optimistic that they will
be flying the Mi-17s operationally within two to three months.
The Iraqi Air Force operates Huey and Jet Ranger helicopters
already, and they will be adding 16 upgraded Huey IIs and five more
Jet Rangers, even as the Mi-17 fleet climbs to its projected count
of 24. Iraq also operates several types of light GA aircraft for
reconnaissance and surveillance.
"The new helicopters will increase the battlefield mobility
capability of the new Iraqi Air
Force and mark the beginning of their move toward becoming an
independent air arm," writes Capt. Russ Cook of the Multinational
Security Training Command-Iraq, the coalition unit charged with
"working itself out of a job" by preparing Iraqis to handle their
own security.