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Iraq’s F-16 Program Stalls as US Contractors Evacuate Balad Airbase

Buildings are seen during a press tour inside al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Jan. 13, 2020. (AFP)
Buildings are seen during a press tour inside al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Jan. 13, 2020. (AFP)
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Iraq’s F-16 Program Stalls as US Contractors Evacuate Balad Airbase

Buildings are seen during a press tour inside al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Jan. 13, 2020. (AFP)
Buildings are seen during a press tour inside al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Jan. 13, 2020. (AFP)

US contractors evacuated Iraq’s Balad Airbase where they were supporting Iraq’s F-16 program, US Stars and Stripes daily military newspaper reported.

The US government withdrew the military personnel following a number of rocket attacks that targeted the airbase.

"Without the Americans, the Iraqis cannot perform the full range of maintenance tasks on the country’s fleet of F-16s, which are key in the fight against the ISIS group," the report said.

It also said that 32 of the 36 F-16 fighter jets Iraq received from 2014 to 2017 were inventoried at Balad Airbase last summer, and 75% were either fully or partially operational in December.

"In the first three months of 2021 they flew 299 sorties, the Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve said in a quarterly report Tuesday."

All but four of those sorties were training missions, it said, according to the report.

Contractors and coalition military air advisors previously evacuated Balad in January 2020 as tensions between Washington and Tehran played out in Iraq in back-and-forth strikes, including the US assassination of a top Iranian general at Baghdad International Airport and Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile strike on two Iraqi bases.

Also, the US-based Lockheed Martin and Sallyport Global failed to support the F-16s due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report asserted that military air advisors are no longer housed at the base, saying "while US Air Force advisers regularly visit Balad, the lack of a dedicated advising presence and secure communications have so far kept the F-16s of Iraq’s 9th Fighter Squadron off the coalition’s air tasking order."

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Kabbashi: Sudan War Nearing End, Arms Proliferation Poses Major Threat

Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
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Kabbashi: Sudan War Nearing End, Arms Proliferation Poses Major Threat

Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, said his government has no objection to delivering aid to other states, provided guarantees are in place (Sudan News Agency)

The war in Sudan is nearing its end, a top military official said on Saturday, warning that the widespread availability of weapons could pose one of the biggest threats to the country’s stability in the post-war period.
Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and deputy commander of the army, told state governors in the temporary capital of Port Sudan that arms proliferation is a “major danger awaiting the state.”
“The areas that have been retaken must be handed over to the police for administration,” Kabbashi said, stressing that civilian policing, not military control, should take over in recaptured territories.
He also pointed to the need to redeploy troops currently stationed at checkpoints and security outposts in liberated regions. “We need these forces on other frontlines,” he said.
Kabbashi described the rise in hate speech triggered by the conflict as “unacceptable” and warned that Sudan would face deep social challenges once the fighting stops.
According to Kabbashi, the Sudanese armed forces are in a strong position after initial setbacks at the start of the war, as the military seeks to shift focus to restoring internal security and supporting civil governance in liberated areas.
“The situation of the armed forces and supporting units is more than good,” said Kabbashi. “We were in a bad place at the beginning of the war — now we are more than fine.”
Kabbashi added that army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is highly focused on ensuring public safety across the country, calling security “a top priority, ahead of all other services.”
He warned, however, that Sudan faces deeper challenges beyond the battlefield. “The plot against Sudan is bigger than the militia we’re fighting — they are only the front,” Kabbashi said, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) without naming them directly.
He pointed to rising crime, widespread weapons, and looting as major security threats that emerged during the war, saying state authorities would have a significant role to play in restoring order.
Kabbashi urged state governors to back police forces in their efforts to maintain law and order, emphasizing that police support is “urgently needed” during the current transitional phase.