Iraq would receive six C-130J transport aircraft and Israel nine of these platforms under pending foreign military sales announced by the Department of Defense late last month. Iraq would get the six Super Hercules aircraft and associated equipment and services under a proposed $1.5 billion deal, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement. Israel’s package of nine airplanes, spares and support could run as high as $1.9 billion, DSCA said in a separate release. Iraq and Israel would join Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Italy, and Norway as international customers of the aircraft, which are also in use in several versions by the US military, including the Air Force.
In Part 2 of a series exploring the Software Acquisition Pathway that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently made mandatory, we look back at how the acquisition reform has its origins in problems with the F-35.