Iraq buys 36 F-16s

Bloomberg/Houston Chronicle:

A Lockheed Martin order from Iraq for 36 advanced F-16 fighters would be the biggest export purchase of the plane in five years, according to company data.

Iraq wants to buy the aircraft to reduce its reliance on U.S. airpower, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ann van Hooydonck, Lockheed's spokeswoman in Europe for aerospace issues, didn't return a call seeking comment.

More than 4,300 F-16s have been built for 24 countries, with 52 follow-on purchases by 14 customers, according to the company's Web site. Lockheed won a $3.5 billion agreement in 2003 to sell 48 F-16s to Poland and in 2000 sold 80 of the planes to the United Arab Emirates in an order valued at $6.4 billion.

The Bethesda, Md.-based company's most recent F-16 export order came from Morocco in 2007 for 24 aircraft. Morocco was the 25th country to select the plane, picking the U.S. model over the Rafale from France's Dassault Aviation SA. Other recent orders have come from Turkey and Pakistan.

...

Iraq continues to find ways to put money back into the US economy. I suspect that their purchases like this will only increase, unless Obama wins and writes them off. We are only starting to get a return on our investment in Iraq. It can be a mutually beneficial relationship if we give it the time to develop. I suspect the Iraqis will eventually be interested in the F-35 which is in the development phase.

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