Rather than acquiring new aircraft from Lockheed Martin which would be expensive or going through a tender which could take a fair amount of time, perhaps the ANG ‘buy back’ F-16s from other countries, much like France is doing with its exported Mirage 2000 fighters. The refurbishing and reselling of F-16s after all is not a new concept at all. Chile is about to receive its second batch of ex-Dutch F-16AM/BMs after all. Of course this would depend entirely on being able to aquire enough F-16s for the ANG and have a standardized refurbishment process for all ‘returning’ F-16s.

It appears that the Iraqi government is on some sort of ‘old stuff buying spree’ but it goes to show that price can beat out more advanced options, although I’m surprised Lockheed Martin didn’t try to push the T-50 though. As for the F-16s, the UPI article mentions that Iraq’s neighbours are still uncomfortable with the idea of the Iraqi air force having a strong offensive capability with its air force so that could be why they’re sticking with Sparrows