Iraq’s military is reportedly facing significant difficulties sustaining its fleet of Russian-made military helicopters as an indirect result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The latest quarterly report by the U.S. Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS notes that Russian supply chain issues caused by the Ukraine war, and sanctions against Moscow for perpetrating it, has affected Iraq’s ability to sustain its Russian-built aircraft.
The OIG report revealed that the Iraqi Army Aviation Command (IqAAC) Mi-17 Hip military transport helicopters, in particular, are being negatively affected. Aside from forming the backbone of the IqAAC’s helicopter fleet, which also includes Mi-28NE and Mi-35M attack helicopters, these Mi-17s are essential for supporting ground forces and carrying out medevacs.
The report pointed out that the “reduced maintenance and logistical support for the Mi-17 resulted in the most significant decrease in mission capability rate among ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) aircraft attached to ground units.”
“Additionally, given the ISF’s desire to frequently utilize the Mi-17 in operations, airframes are exceeding their recommended flight hours, exacerbating their poor mission capable rates,” it added.
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These setbacks come mere months after Iraq initiated a repair program for its military helicopters.
On a Mar. 1 visit to Taji Airbase north of Baghdad, Iraqi Defense Minister Anad Sadoun inspected Russian-built helicopters recently returned to service by the program.
“We are continuing with this campaign and in the near future we are planning to repair a second batch of helicopters, and so forth, until we complete the repair of all broken-down helicopters, and thus increase the overall readiness level to more than 80%” he said.
Citing the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, the OIG report forecast “a reduced operational status of these platforms for at least the duration of the Ukraine conflict.”
With that war likely to continue for the foreseeable future, Iraq will not likely be able to complete its repair project anytime. It may eventually even have to ground and cannibalize some of its helicopters to keep others airworthy.
A significant decrease in the number of operational Mi-17s could adversely affect the ISF’s capability to combat ISIS remnants in the country.