The first of 36 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft for the Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) has made its maiden flight, the company announced on 7 May.

The twin-seat F-16D conducted the flight out of the Fort Worth production facility in Texas, although Lockheed Martin disclosed no further details.

Iraq is set to shortly begin receiving its first batch of 18 aircraft, which will bridge the top-end capability gap that the IQAF has had since it was reconstituted in 2003 following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

According to US Defense Security and Co-operation Agency (DSCA) notifications, these aircraft will be equipped with Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems; conformal fuel tanks; Pratt & Whitney F100PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 increased-performance engines; AN/APG-68(V)9 radar sets; AN/AAQ-33 Sniper or AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pods; F-9120 Advanced Airborne Reconnaissance Systems (AARS) or DB-110 reconnaissance pods; AN/ALQ-211 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites or Advanced Countermeasures Electronic Systems (ACES); and AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing systems.

Weapon systems listed by the DSCA comprised M61 20 mm Vulcan cannons (plus 40,000 rounds of ammunition); AIM-9L/M-8/9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; AIM-7M-F1/H Sparrow medium-range missiles; AGM-65D/G/H/K Maverick air-to-surface missiles; 500 lb (226.8 kg) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs; 2,000 lb GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs; 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs; Mk 84 2000 lb and Mk 82 500 lb general-purpose bombs.
http://www.janes.com/article/37525/f...-maiden-flight