Sustainment Package Approved for Iraqi C-130s

The State Department approved a proposed foreign military sale to Iraq, estimated at $800 million, to sustain the Iraqi air force’s C-130E and C-130J fleets, announced the Pentagon. The package is in response to an Iraqi request for a five-year sustainment package that includes operational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance, along with spares, repair parts, support, personnel training, and contractor logistics support, among the elements, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Nov. 26 notice. “The Iraq[i] air force’s limited maintenance capability necessitates the need for continued contractor logistics support,” states the notice. The deal would allow the IAF to operate its C-130s past 2015 and will aid the IAF in executing humanitarian relief missions in various locations, declared DSCA. Currently the IAF operates three C-130Es and six C-130J airlifters. This sustainment package comes as the United States moves to build up the Iraqi military after its losses to ISIS terrorists this past summer.