Should Iraq have bought the Su-30?

With the Mosul operation nearing an end, I was looking back and wondering if Iraq made a serious mistake in buying the F-16IQ. This because:

– High cost, $4+ billion for 38 aicraft + parts and training (I’m guessing) is a lot of money not spent on COIN equipment.
– Delayed delivery, especially painful as these might have put a dent in ISIS’s advance early on.
– Limited weapon outfit, seems the US is selling Iraq only outdated weapons like the Sparrow, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the platform.

All this makes me wonder if Iraq could not have spent its money better elsewhere. Russia especially has been very supportive in the fight against ISIS, some might say more so than the Coalition.

For example the Su-30MKK would have been an interesting alternative:

– Costs about the same.
– Two engines. At about double the flight cost per hour, but then you have a greatly reduced chance of losing such an expensive aircraft to engine failure, so I’d say that evens things out.
– About double the operational range.
– Second pilot, who can operate weapons and act as a C&C node, although the F-16D probably has similar capabilities.
– Bigger and more powerful radar, an important advantage in scanning the air since Iraq has no AWACS, but also to map ISIS movement on the ground.
– I would say superior WVR capabilities compared to the F-16, because of TVC and HMS. Plus access to more advanced WVR missiles.
– Superior BVR capabilities, thanks to bigger radar, more advanced missiles and the weapons operator.
– I understand the underwing payload capacity is about the same, but I imagine the F-16 will need to some of this space for drop tanks (by contrast I’ve never even seen an Su-30 carry drop tanks).
– The US is known to block maintenance of weapon systems for political reasons.
– Growth potential, Russia is buying and operating the type and still developing it further, so future upgrade programs are ensured (if not China might develop them). Plus it’s physically a bigger aircraft in general, meaning it will be easier to incorporate changes without rebuilding the entire aircraft.
– Finally there are no other operators of the type in the region, giving it a serious cool factor, and also a possible advantage since potential adversaries might be less familiar with the type.

Essentially the Su-30 is an F-15C/E for the price of an F-16.