One of the first two L-159 jets for Iraq seen transiting through Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria enroute to Balad Air Base. The Iraqi Air Force is to receive 15 such aircraft by the end of 2017
The Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) has received the first of its Aero Vodochody L-159 light attack and training aircraft from the Czech Republic, the Iraqi defence minister confirmed on 5 November.
The arrival of the first two of 15 L-159A/B jets into Balad Air Base was tweeted by Khalid Al-Obeidi the day after an image of aircraft '5903' transiting through Plovdiv in Bulgaria enroute to Iraq was obtained by IHS Jane's (the other aircraft was '5094').
The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) cleared the sale of 11 surplus and four active-duty L-159s to Iraq earlier in the year. In all, the IqAF is to receive 10 single-seat L-159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) light strike platforms, two twin-seat L-159B Albatros II trainers, and three spare parts airframes by the time deliveries are complete in 2017.
Based on the L-39/59, the L-159 has a larger, redesigned nose to accommodate a radar; a longer fuselage; the option for a single-seat armoured cockpit with 297 kg of additional fuel in lieu of the rear seat for the ALCA model; modern controls and avionics; as well as permanent wingtip fuel tanks. The aircraft features seven external stores stations - one under the fuselage and three under each wing - and can carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM, the AGM-65 Maverick ASM, and SUU-20 or CRV-7 unguided rocket pods, up to a maximum payload of 2,700 kg (5,952 lb).
Performance specifications listed in IHS Jane's All the World's Aircraft: Development & Production give the L-159 a top speed of 420 kt (778 km/h; 483 mph); a range of 659 n miles (1,220 km; 758 miles) with maximum internal fuel only, and reserves of 10% of internal fuel; and a service ceiling of 43,000 ft. The estimated unit cost is USD9.5 million.
With Iraq having first declared its intentions to procure the L-159 in 2010 the status of the sale had been unclear until very recently, with numbers and timelines fluctuating and the IqAF seeming to opt instead for the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Fighting Eagle light fighter and strike platform.
