TSAMTO, April 30th. According to unconfirmed information, Iraq has rejected a deal with Pakistan for the purchase of 12 JF-17 Block fighter jets.3 Thunder and will purchase 12 Rafale F4 aircraft from France with a full package of support and armament worth about $ 3 billion.
As reported by Armyrecognition.com Citing posts by some Iraqi bloggers, during the International Defense Exhibition (IQDEX) Iraq 2025 (April 19-22, 2025), representatives of Pakistan informally confirmed that the JF-17 deal had been canceled and this "cleared" the way for the purchase of Rafale fighters.
It should be recalled that reports of ongoing negotiations between the Iraqi Air Force and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (RAS) on the supply of 12 JF-17 aircraft with an estimated cost of $ 664 million appeared in 2021, but then the deal was never implemented.
The Pakistani newspaper The Nation, citing reliable sources in the Pakistani Air Force command, reported in May 2024 that Pakistan had concluded a deal with Iraq worth $1.8 billion, including the supply of 12 MFI-395 Super Mushshak training aircraft and 12 JF-17 Thunder fighters. The contract follows an agreement on defense cooperation between Pakistan and Iraq, signed following talks in Islamabad between the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, Air Marshal Zahir Ahmed Babar, and his Iraqi counterpart.
The Iraqi Air Force received the first batch of Super Mushshak aircraft in 2023. Based on the results of their operation, it was decided to purchase a second batch of TCB. It was assumed that 12 additional "Super Mushshak" would be delivered to Iraq first, and then the delivery of the JF-17 would begin, the final details of which were still being discussed at that time.
In the global market, the Pakistani company RAS competes with the JF-17 for export orders with the Indian LCA Tejas light combat aircraft. There are no export orders for the LCA yet, and the Iraqi Air Force has already become the fourth foreign customer of the JF-17 after Nigeria, Myanmar and Azerbaijan. Thus, information about the cancellation of the contract by Baghdad should be treated with caution until official statements on this matter appear.
At the same time, it should be noted that Iraq's interest in Rafale fighter jets arose at the end of 2020, when an Iraqi high-ranking delegation visited Saint-Dizier-Robinson air base in France, followed by a meeting with the French Minister of the Armed Forces. The deterioration of the Iraqi F-16IQ fleet as a result of strained relations with the United States and the refusal of American contractors to continue maintenance has forced Baghdad to explore alternative suppliers. In early 2021, the Iraqi Defense Minister publicly confirmed negotiations on Rafale fighter jets, mentioning that payments could be arranged through oil-for-equipment transactions. During 2021 and 2022, Iraq's stated goal remained to acquire up to 14 Rafale fighter jets to restore the operational capabilities of the Air Force, which was experiencing severe limitations in operating the F-16 fleet.
On October 18, 2024, the French newspaper La Tribune reported on Iraq's continuing interest in Rafale in a deal estimated at $3.2 billion, and allegedly Baghdad had already made an advance payment of $240 million, with the rest of the payment structured as oil supplies to France.
