On Friday, 21 November 2025, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) of the USAF Logistics Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, signed a contract worth 252,050,925 USD with Vectrus Systems LLC of Colorado Springs, Colorado, to support the fleet of 34 Iraqi Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Block 52 multirole aircraft.
Photo: Senior Airman Jordan Castelan, USAF
The contract covers the provision of maintenance support services, operational support, and security services at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih Air Base (formerly known as Balad, after the nearby town), located in Salah ad-Din Province, 64 km north of Baghdad.
The contract will remain in effect until 24 September 2026, and the funds come from the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program for Iraq. At the time of signing, the first tranche of funds, a total of 123,994,954 USD, was released.
It is worth noting that this is the second contract awarded this year to Vectrus Systems LLC on this matter. The first, dated 24 June of this year, was valued at 118,020,690 USD.
The Iraqi Air Force (al-Qūwah al-jawwīyah al-ʻIrāqīyah) operates all F-16IQ Block 52s within the 9th Fighter Squadron, stationed at the aforementioned air base. The original fleet consisted of 36 aircraft (18 ordered in two batches in 2011, with deliveries between 2014 and 2019, including 24 single-seat F-16Cs and 12 two-seat F-16Ds), but two were lost in accidents: a two-seat aircraft on 24 June 2015 and a single-seat aircraft on 5 September 2017 during a training program in the United States. The first Iraqi F-16 saw combat in April 2018, striking Islamic State targets in Syria.
It is also worth adding that recently, on 4 November of this year, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that on 27 October the Iraqi Security Forces–including the Iraqi Air Force–were certified for independent combat operations within the country’s airspace.
Photo: Master Sgt. Russ Scalf, USAF
The F-16IQ is a somewhat downgraded export version of the F-16C/D Block 52. In 2020, the Iraqi fleet went through a crisis after relations between Washington and Baghdad deteriorated and the Americans withdrew technical support personnel from Iraq. In the first quarter of that year, the fleet’s readiness fell to 20 aircraft capable of flying, and later to only five. In September 2020, the Americans returned to Iraq, and by 2023 the fleet’s readiness level was estimated at 66%. However, as early as 2021 Lockheed Martin withdrew its personnel due to escalating violence in Iraq, which is why the contracts are now carried out by other entities, including those responsible for security, such as the aforementioned Vectrus Systems LLC.
Interestingly, in 2010 the Iraqi government at the time declared a need for 96 combat aircraft as part of the reconstruction of its air force. In 2023, reports emerged that Iraq was negotiating the purchase of either 12 Chinese-Pakistani JF-17s or 14 French Dassault Rafales. As of today, there is no information on the finalization of either deal.
