Iraqi Air Force

The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF (Arabic: Al Quwwa al Jawwiya al Iraqiya القوة الجوية العراقية) is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations. The IQAF also acts as a support force for the Iraqi Navy and the Iraqi Army and it also allows Iraq to rapidly deploy its developing Army.

It was first founded in 1931, when Iraq was under British rule, with a handful of pilots and continued to operate British aircraft until the 14 July Revolution in 1958, when the new Iraqi government began increased diplomatic relationships with the Soviet Union. The air force used both Soviet and British aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s. When Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979, the air force grew very quickly after Iraq ordered more Soviet and French aircraft. Its peak came a few years after the long and bloody Iran-Iraq War, in 1988, when it consisted of over 950 aircraft, becoming one of the largest air forces in the region. Its downfall came after the Gulf War and when the coalition forces enforced no-fly zones. Iraq's air force eventually collapsed after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Currently, the IQAF is rebuilding and receiving most of its training and aircraft from the United States. The iraqi air force is planning to buy 96 new f-16 fighting falcons due to arrive by 2020.