Recurring reports since 2021 have indicated Iraq has been negotiating deals for 12 JF-17 Thunder from Pakistan and 14 Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France. Baghdad is either exploring its options or plans on acquiring both combat aircraft.
Iraq reportedly concluded a $664 million deal for 12 JF-17 Block 3 jets from Pakistan following over two years of negotiations, The News International in Pakistan reported on July 9, citing unnamed sources.
In September 2021, Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper reported on the negotiations and also mentioned the $664 million figure for 12 fighters.
The latest report comes less than two months after Iraqi media reported that Baghdad is still interested in purchasing 14 Dassault Rafales as part of a deal under discussion since at least 2021.
In May, an Iraqi News Agency (INA) report cited Major General Yehia Rasool, the spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, reiterating Baghdad’s interest in the advanced multirole French jet. He also said that Iraq “will purchase modern military equipment from many countries, including the Republic of France,” suggesting that Baghdad may ultimately buy combat aircraft from more than one country.
Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported in September 2021 – the same month as The Nation first reported on the JF-17 contract – that Iraq’s Parliamentary Committee for Security and Defense announced Baghdad would negotiate a deal with France for the supply of Rafales along with radars and air defenses. Iraq held an inauguration ceremony for its first French-supplied Thales Ground Master 403 (GM403) mobile long-range radar in September 2022.
In February 2022, a source cited by Defense News said Iraq was buying 14 Rafales in a $240 million deal paid for with oil. It’s unclear how much the $240 million would cover since it’s such a low figure for just over a dozen Rafales. For example, India spent $8.2 billion on its 36 Rafales. JF-17s cost approximately $25 million each, so the reported $664 million for a dozen of the most advanced Block 3 jets and accompanying armaments, parts, and support makes a lot more sense than $240 million for 14 Rafales.
The September 2021 INA report quoted the Chairman of the Committee for Security and Defense, Mohamed Redha Al-Haider, saying his committee would present Iraq’s prime minister and France’s president with “the issue of funds and weapons that were contracted in the eighties and nineties and have not yet been delivered to Iraq.”
Iraq had 18 Mirage F1s on order that France impounded following Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait and ultimately never delivered. In 2011, France reportedly proposed selling Iraq the same number of retrofitted Mirages for $1 billion, much more than the purported price for 12 far more advanced Rafales.
Iraq may aim to secure a major discount for Rafales as part of a mutual agreement to clear any debts France owes from past deals Paris did not fulfill, although that’s far from clear. It’s also conceivable that the $240 million is the first of several payments.
Iraq reportedly wants the JF-17 or Rafale primarily for air defense. That would make sense given that the current backbone of Iraq’s fighter fleet, its 34 American F-16C/D Block 52s, did not come with any AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, markedly limiting their potential for air defense.
The July 9 report in The News International claims that Iraq wants the JF-17 to defend its airspace against drones. Baghdad may seek the PL-15 missile, a roughly equivalent Chinese missile, for its JF-17 Block 3, which is also equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
Rasool was quoted by INA saying, “Iraq is cooperating with France in many fields, including air defense.” As part of this process, Baghdad could well seek France’s formidable Meteor air-to-air missile along with its Rafales, which would greatly improve its air defense capabilities.
As previously outlined in this space, Iraq’s air force has a long history of shifting between East and West for combat aircraft. Today, Baghdad may be attempting to hedge its bets and diversify its air force by buying a little from both.
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