MOSCOW, July 1 (RIA Novosti) – Iraq is to receive from five to ten Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft by September, Russian Ambassador to Baghdad Ilya Morgunov said Tuesday.
"From five to ten [planes] will be delivered by the end of the summer,” Morgunov said. “The contracts [for military hardware], signed in 2013, are being implemented according to schedule.”
The Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau to provide close air support for ground troops. The Su-25 aircraft have been in service with the Russian Air Force for more than 25 years.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said Moscow had delivered the aircraft commissioned under the previous contract to Iraq.
According to Morgunov, Russian pilots will not be deployed to Iraq take part in combat action against ISIS terrorists. However, the ambassador said Russian technical experts would help assemble the aircraft.
Iraq needs aircraft to fight militants from the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), which has recently seized vast territories, including the major cities of Mosul and Tikrit.
