USA "very close" to selling some 18 F16 fig
Discussion
Telegraph said:
Iraq had frozen the $4.2 billion deal earlier this year amid the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, but the prospects were "promising" for the contract to now move ahead, General Russ Handy, head of the US air forces in Iraq, said.
"They are seeking to buy a larger number of F16s (than) they had originally, up to 36. This first letter of offer and acceptance is for 18 of them, so we hope to hear very soon, but no final word yet on that," Handy told reporters.
"Everyone I talk to, everyone within the government in Iraq is convinced it's the right choice for them, so we are very encouraged by those words and we feel that we are very close to them signing that letter of offer and acceptance."
The news comes after US Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley visited Iraq earlier this month for talks on the F16 sale after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on July 30 that he had revived the talks.
But Maliki said then that Iraq was looking at the purchase of some 36 jets, rather than the originally mooted 18. "The new contract will be larger than what we agreed earlier, to provide security for Iraq," he said.
Any deal would be worth billions of dollars and take years to implement, as it would require the manufacture of the aircraft and the training of Iraqi pilots.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleea..."They are seeking to buy a larger number of F16s (than) they had originally, up to 36. This first letter of offer and acceptance is for 18 of them, so we hope to hear very soon, but no final word yet on that," Handy told reporters.
"Everyone I talk to, everyone within the government in Iraq is convinced it's the right choice for them, so we are very encouraged by those words and we feel that we are very close to them signing that letter of offer and acceptance."
The news comes after US Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley visited Iraq earlier this month for talks on the F16 sale after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on July 30 that he had revived the talks.
But Maliki said then that Iraq was looking at the purchase of some 36 jets, rather than the originally mooted 18. "The new contract will be larger than what we agreed earlier, to provide security for Iraq," he said.
Any deal would be worth billions of dollars and take years to implement, as it would require the manufacture of the aircraft and the training of Iraqi pilots.
Wait, what.... *manufacture*? When they have loads of them in deep storage at various boneyards around the USA? I call bulls
t.Or rubbish reporting. The latter is sadly par for the course.
Edit: Sorry about the title. Should have read "USA to sell 18 F16 jets to Iraq" but something went wrong.
JonRB said:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleea...
Wait, what.... *manufacture*? When they have loads of them in deep storage at various boneyards around the USA? I call bullst.
Or rubbish reporting. The latter is sadly par for the course.
If they have airframes lying around it takes slightly more effort than a squirt of WD40 to get them airworthy again!Wait, what.... *manufacture*? When they have loads of them in deep storage at various boneyards around the USA? I call bulls
t.Or rubbish reporting. The latter is sadly par for the course.
Jasandjules said:
See, it was worth invading after all. Oil AND sales.
4000+ dead Americans and 3 trillion dollars worse off. A $4billion deal is a drop in the ocean here. Then again, the profit is going to the private sector whilst the poor American taxpayers are left to foot the bill for the Iraq adventure.Seems to be a growing trend in societies like ours now.
hornetrider said:
If they have airframes lying around it takes slightly more effort than a squirt of WD40 to get them airworthy again!
There are several boneyards around the USA in places like the Mojave desert where airworthy planes are shrink-wrapped in plastic waiting to be reactivated, preserved against the elements by the arid desert conditions. And there are far more than eighteen F16s in such a state. So I stand by what I said. JonRB said:
There are several boneyards around the USA in places like the Mojave desert where airworthy planes are shrink-wrapped in plastic waiting to be reactivated, preserved against the elements by the arid desert conditions. And there are far more than eighteen F16s in such a state. So I stand by what I said.
There are hundreds of F16's in bone yards.Iraq has more cash than the US so why would they want their cast offs?
BB
Here's a few
Davis Monthan Boneyard F-16 Tails by redsox223, on Flickr
Davis Monthan Boneyard F-16's by redsox223, on Flickr
Davis Monthan Boneyard F-16 Tails by redsox223, on Flickr
Davis Monthan Boneyard F-16's by redsox223, on Flickr
JonRB said:
There are several boneyards around the USA in places like the Mojave desert where airworthy planes are shrink-wrapped in plastic waiting to be reactivated, preserved against the elements by the arid desert conditions. And there are far more than eighteen F16s in such a state. So I stand by what I said.
The majority have no fatigue life left (and are being converted to target drones). Any 'reactivation' would indeed cost millions of dollars per airframe.bigbubba said:
JonRB said:
Because if they want F16s then, by definition, they either can't afford (or can't acquire) anything better.
That's not true.They could buy Russian kit for less money.
They would have no issue getting it either.
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