--- title: The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again | TIME description: Before the Gulf War and the invasion in 2003, Iraq had one of the largest air forces in the Middle East. TIME visits an Iraqi Air Force base to see how Iraq is rebuilding its flying fleet canonical: https://time.com/video/5yRyv9QR/ og:title: The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again og:description: Before the Gulf War and the invasion in 2003, Iraq had one of the largest air forces in the Middle East. TIME visits an Iraqi Air Force base to see how Iraq is rebuilding its flying fleet og:url: https://time.com/video/5yRyv9QR/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5yRyv9QR/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again twitter:description: Before the Gulf War and the invasion in 2003, Iraq had one of the largest air forces in the Middle East. TIME visits an Iraqi Air Force base to see how Iraq is rebuilding its flying fleet twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5yRyv9QR/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again [Watch (HLS stream): The Iraqi Air Force Flies Again](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5yRyv9QR.m3u8) (3:46)  _Published 2010-04-06. Before the Gulf War and the invasion in 2003, Iraq had one of the largest air forces in the Middle East. TIME visits an Iraqi Air Force base to see how Iraq is rebuilding its flying fleet_ --- Jul 27, 2023 1:22 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Iraqi Forces Fight For Mosul](/video/dPPkOzdE/) ### Iraqi Forces Fight For Mosul [A New Air Force One Fleet is On The Way](/video/RblQWeq0/) ### A New Air Force One Fleet is On The Way [Peshmerga Forces' Weapons Convoy Arrives at Iraqi-Turkish Border](/video/yUmTOzMv/) ### Peshmerga Forces' Weapons Convoy Arrives at Iraqi-Turkish Border --- ## Transcript >> It's not uncommon to see helicopters flying over Baghdad. But this helicopter is different. >> They would come in and almost land a foot off the ground, and then taxi through big HESCO barriers around other helicopters to park the aircraft. And it was incredibly impressive. >> It's being flown by an Iraqi pilot in training to take over the Air Force. >> Watching them, you don't know if the pilots were American or Iraqi by the way they were flying. My name is Bill Thomas. I'm a freelance video journalist. I was in Iraq for two months last summer, basically reporting on the status of Iraqi forces, U. S. forces. As one comes up and the other comes down. And the Iraqi Air Force, which I didn't even know existed anymore. >> Thomas decided to go on a training flight to check out the capabilities of the Iraqi Air Force and its pilot. >> When I finally got to fly with them, it was an Iraqi pilot and an American co- pilot who was more there on the advisory role. This pilot has been flying for a number of years, the Iraqi one. It was great seeing the interaction between the American pilot and the Iraqi. You would never know it was-- it was pilots of two vastly different countries who used to be at war with one another. >> But Thomas saw remnants of Iraq's not so distant past and its once powerful military as he flew over a boneyard in the northern part of Camp Taji. >> In Saddam's era, it was one of the largest military bases. And after the Iran- Iraq war, hundreds and hundreds of vehicles, equipment, et cetera, had been positioned there. You had tanks, you had armoured troop carriers, you had missile launchers, you had radar trucks, artillery pieces. It's pretty ominous to see that much military equipment rusting and covered in dust and graffiti. >> In the early 1990s, Iraq had one of the largest Air Forces in the Middle East. But the Persian Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 decimated its air power. Now, Iraq is starting to rebuild its force from the ground up. They currently have around 130 aircrafts including American Bell Hueys, Cessnas, C- 130s and Soviet helicopters. >> Their Air Force could not-- couldn't stop a foreign invader. No. I think their main goal with their Air Force is basic transportation of man and equipment and supplies. >> According to the Pentagon, Iraq plans to acquire more than 500 military aircraft from the United States and France by 2015. At that point, they will have airstrike capacity. But experts say they still have a ways to go before the Iraqi Air Force can stand on its own. >> In order to have a credible Air Force, you've got not only the equipment, or the training, and the logistics. You've got to have all the infrastructural support, the equipment, and actually produce a fighting machine. So, we are some ways yet, but we are well on the way. We have our formations in place, a lot of training has taken place. A lot of basic equipment has been put in place. 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