If a recent russian press report were to be believed, Iraq would possibly be buying the fifth generation Russian Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet. It would be a bad concept for the suffering nation of the Middle East.
Russian state newspaper Sputnik News cited Imad Al-Zuhairi as inspector of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense army. Iraq is potentially interested in getting Su-57 and other weapons systems.
“I want a plane, I want a fighter, Su-57,” Sputnik said, quoting Al-Zuhairi at the 2020 Army Defense Industry Forum in Russia. “We have many helicopters from Russia, Mi-35, Mi-28, Mi-17 . . . It is the main [air] force in Iraq. “
Iraq bought trendy attack helicopters from Russia in the early 2010s instead of American Ah-64 Apaches. These Russian attack helicopters fought in the Iraq war in opposition to the Islamic State group.
The Iraqi-made Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft also carried out most Iraqi airstrikes during the war, much more than the F-16 fleet that the United States began delivering to Iraq in 2015.
If Sputnik’s article quoted Al-Zuhairi accurately, and if Al-Zuhairi actually officially expresses a possible Iraqi interest in buying Su-57, then this is a very questionable concept for Baghdad.
On the one hand, Iraq is expected to spend billions of dollars on complex aircraft at a time when it faces wonderful economic hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the low value of oil, on which its economy depends. strongly for their income.
In addition, the Su-57 remains little more than a prototype and will probably remain prototype for some time. And Russia began mass production of the aircraft in July 2019, it will probably be several more years before it enters service with Russian aerospace forces in It is very likely that aircraft exports will take even longer.
Then there’s the maintenance factor. Iraq spent more than $4 billion on an F-16 fleet in the 2010s. Today, there have been conflicting reports related to the operational prestige and maintenance of this fleet since U. S. contractors left Iraq in January 2020 as tensions between the United States and Iran increased. reports recommend that most of the fleet is lately on the ground due to a fatal mix of poor maintenance and corruption at Iraqi Balad Air Base, where most Iraqi F-16s are based.
The commissioning of the stealth Su-57s would be much more complicated for Baghdad than for the F-16s without the Russian technical assistance consisting of advisers and technicians, not to mention the education of Iraqi pilots to fly this highly complicated fighter jet. The worst reports on the current state of its F-16 fleet are correct, so the acquisition of the Su-57 may in the end be little more than a massive waste of billions of dollars for Iraq that simply cannot afford.
One wonders why Baghdad would think it wants the Su-57s, for example, the less expensive 4. 5-generation Su-35 multipurpose fighters, which would provide the Iraqi Air Force with a highly capable fighter for air-to-air fighting and ground attack roles. . would be much less difficult to maintain.
Baghdad has lately no serious air defenses and no long-range surface-to-air missiles. Your F-16s are supplied only with short-range air-to-air missiles, so your ability to impose any closure of your airspace. This is probably the main explanation for why Iraq has intermittently purchased Russian long-range air defense missiles S-400 or S-300 in recent years.
The acquisition of the Su-57 may result in U. S. economic sanctions imposed on Iraq under the Federal Law to Combat U. S. Opponents through Sanctions (CAATSA), as such acquisition would constitute a “significant transaction” with the Russian defense sector.
Russian helicopters purchased through Iraq in the early 2010s were delivered years before CAATSA entered into force here. Iraq acquired a fleet of T-90 tanks later in the decade, however, this acquisition does not appear to have characterized Iraq as CAATSA sanctions, at least not However, the acquisition of high-tech Su-57 or S-400 would result in U. S. sanctions opposed to Iraq.
Turkey, a best friend of the United States, has lately faced CAATSA sanctions imaginable for buying Russian S-400s for US wishes of $2. 5 billion, as does Egypt for its recent $2 billion order for a Su-35 fleet.
Moreover, Israel would oppose the sale of these complex Russian fighter jets to Iraq. Earlier this month, Israel voiced its opposition to any possible sale of fifth-generation U. S. F-35 Lightning II aircraft to the United Arab Emirates, with which it has just normalized its relations.
Risking sanctions for an aircraft like the Su-35 may make sense for Iraq if Baghdad has concluded that this Russian army apparatus is more appropriate, durable, and successful for its long-term military than the U. S. apparatus.
However, opting for the Su-57s, far from being a successful long-term investment by its air forces, would probably prove an unfairly expensive option for Iraq.
I am a journalist / chronicler who writes on military and political affairs in the Middle East.