ABSTRACT
In 1996, the Iraqi Air Force had roughly 30,000 men, including some 15,000 air defense personnel. It retained approximately 330 to 370 combat aircraft, although some of the Iraqi aircraft counted in this total were damaged or had limited or no operational combat capability. The Iraqi Air Force not only continued to suffer from its losses during the Gulf War, but also from five years without any significant imports of parts and equipment and foreign technical support. Further, the participation of some air force officers in coup attempts has led Saddam to limit the resources given to the Iraqi Air Force. The Iraqi Air Force and air defense forces have since backed down in response to UN challenges, but Iraq has stepped up its air training and has continued to rebuild other aspects of its air defense capabilities. Beginning in late 1992, Iraq started to improve the quality of its air-to-air training, and to reconstitute its surface-to-air missile net.
