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109th Squadron (Iraq)

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109th Attack Squadron
Active1978-2003[1]
2015-current
CountryIraq
BranchIraqi Air Force
RoleGround attack
BaseAl Rasheed Air Base
Insignia
Fin Flash
Aircraft flown
AttackSukhoi Su-25

The 109th Attack Squadron is an Iraqi Air Force ground-attack squadron. It operates the Sukhoi Su-25 from Al Rasheed Air Base.[2]

Twentieth century

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No. 109 Squadron was established in 1978.[3] It was equipped with Sukhoi Su-22s,[4] and was based at Wahda AB near Basra.[3] No. 109 Squadron's pilots became the first in Iraq to receive dedicated training for anti-ship attacks.[5]

The squadron participated in the three waves of Iraqi air strikes on Iran on the first day of the Iran-Iraq War. It did not lose any aircraft on that day.[6]

Twenty-first century

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On 2 April 2015, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence confirmed that the 109th Attack Squadron had been formed at Rasheed Air Base to operate the Sukhoi Su-25s the country received from Russia and Iran. The first of these aircraft had arrived in Iraq on 28 June 2014.[7]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sipos & Cooper 2022, pp. 53, X
  2. ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. May 2015. p. 26.
  3. ^ a b Sipos & Cooper 2022, p. 53
  4. ^ Sipos & Cooper 2022, p. 30
  5. ^ Sipos & Cooper 2022, p. 49
  6. ^ Sipos & Cooper 2022, pp. 59, 63, 66
  7. ^ Delalande 2016, p. 24

Bibliography

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  • Delalande, Arnaud (2016). Iraqi Air Power Reborn: The Iraqi air arms since 2004. Houston: Harpia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9854554-7-7.
  • Sipos, Milos; Cooper, Tom (2022). Wings of Iraq, Volume 2: The Iraqi Air Force, 1970-1980. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. ISBN 978-1-914377-17-4.

Further reading

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  • Iraqi Fighters: 1953-2003: Camouflage and markings by Ahmad Sadik and Tom Cooper, published in 2008 by Harpia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-6152141-4-6