[Marcello]

Unit 143: MiG-21MF.
1)Fire Control should be increased to 10.
2)EW should be increased to 1, the plane did have a RWR.
3)Armament would changed to two weapon n. 196 250kg Bomb, one in slot 2 and an other in slot 3.

The MiG-21MF gunsight, bombsight and EW equipment were comparable or more advanced than those installed on the MiG-21PFM. I suggested rearming it two 250kg bombs because there is already one MiG-21 available with 500kg bombs and two 250kg bombs was apparently a more common armament anyway. The performance penalty (loss of range etc.) from carrying two 500Kg bombs was reportedly very high.

Unit 144: MiG-21PF
1) Night vision rating should be reduced to zero:
2) Rocket ammo in slots 2-3 should be reduced from 8 to 4. The plane carried two UB-16 rocket pods with 16 rockets each.

Unit 145: MiG-21PFM
Night vision rating should be reduced to zero.

The MiG-21PF lacked a gun while the PFM could at least carry a gunpod in the ventral hardpoint.
These MiG-21s did not have any optical night vision systems or a radars capable of detecting a ground target; insofar ground attacks went they were purely day fighters.


Units 150-151: Su-7BMK
1) Night vision rating should be reduced to zero.
2) EW rating should be reduced to 1.
3) Final availability date should be changed to 12/1986.
4) Unit 150 should be rearmed with four 250kg bombs (weapon n.196) , two in slot 2 and another two in slot 3.


Unit 123 SA-342K
Weapon n.233 7.62mm NF1 MG in slot 1 should be deleted

No machine guns were reportedly carried together with the HOT missiles and in any case doing so would have meant reducing the number of missiles carried. Four HOT missiles was the typical fit.

Unit 121 SA-341H
1) Name change to SA-342K
2) Final availability date extended to 12/1991
3) Weapon n. 145 Malyutka ATGM replaced by weapon n. 163 HOT ATGM with two rounds of ammunition

According to some sources such a mixed HOT/Strela armament was used to counter the threat posed by iranian Cobra gunships. according to SIPRI versions supplied were SA-342K and SA-342L

Unit 127: H-500D
1)It should be rearmed with weapon n. 182.
2)night vision rating could be reduced to 10 or 0.


Unit 128 MDH-530MF
1) Armament could be changed to weapon n. 213 2x Hydra 70 with six rounds of HE ammunition.
2) night vision rating could be reduced to 10 or 0.


Units 187-188 Il-28
1) The weapons in slot 3 for both units could be deleted; max practical bomb load was eight FAB-250 or four FAB-500
2) Final availability date should be restricted to 12/1982. The sources indicate that the iraqi Il-28 were, if not already out of service at the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, at the end of their service lives.

Unit 189 Il-28
It could be deleted,
It has incorrect armament, besides units 187-188 are sufficient.

Unit 119: MB-339
It could be deleted.
Italian sources which MB-339 don’t mention Iraq as being supplied with them, nor there are mentions anywhere of its combat use in the iraqi air force.

Unit 963: AH-1 Cobra/TOW
Initial availability date should be pushed forward to 1/2015.
Insofar it is known there are no plans to purchase Cobra gunships, nor the US has many to spare to start with. Still I would wait before deleting it.