The first of 36 F-16 Block 52 aircraft destined for Iraq completed its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s Ft. Worth, Texas, production center, the company announced Wednesday. The multirole combat aircraft was produced for the Iraqi Air Force as part of a foreign military sale. Iraq will receive the first batch of planes later this year. Lockheed was awarded a contract for the second batch of 18 F-16 C/D fighters for Iraq in April 2013. The company expects to keep the F-16 production line open through 2017, states the the release. (See also Moving Forward in Iraq.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.