The 70th Squadron is one of the two

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

squadrons Squadron(s) may refer to: Military * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 ...

of the

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

. As of 2016, it was based at

Ali Air Base Nasiriyah Airport is a public and military airport located 23 km (14 mi) southwest of Nasiriyah, Iraq. It is also known as Tallil Air Base until December 2011 and Imam Ali Air Base until March 2017, when the base was used by United S ...

. The other reconnaissance unit is the 3rd Squadron based at Kirkuk Air Base.

Pre-2003 era

No. 70 Squadron was established in 1973. At the time of the

October War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most o ...

, it was working up on

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

M/MFs at

Rasheed Air Base Al Rasheed Air Base (also known as Al Salam Air Base, ) is a major Iraqi Air Force base on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad, in Diyala Governorate of Iraq. It is located approximately 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southeast of downtown Ba ...

. Additionally, in 1976 the squadron received four MiG-21R reconnaissance fighters. These were operated by a dedicated flight. During the period between their arrival and the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War, these aircraft flew reconnaissance missions near the border with Iran. These missions were intensified starting in April 1980, but were performed by single aircraft only, staying inside Iraqi airspace. This changed in early June, when two MiG-21Rs deliberately violated Iranian airspace while conducting photo reconnaissance. The MiG-21Rs from No. 70 Squadron performed dozens more such missions inside Iran without getting caught, until 11 September. That day, a MiG-21R was shot down by an

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

, using an

AIM-54 Phoenix The AIM-54 Phoenix is an American active radar-guided, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (AAM), carried in clusters of up to six missiles on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, its only operational launch platform. The AIM-54 Phoenix was the United S ...

missile.

Post-2003 era

The squadron was reformed in July 2004. In August 2004, nine pilots and five engineers began operations, having been trained in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

on Seabird Seekers. The two Seekers that were assigned to the 70th Squadron were the first aircraft to enter service with the reformed

; at that time, the squadron was based at

Basrah Basra () is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border at the north-easternmost exten ...

. To assist the squadron had four coalition pilot instructors, one engineer instructor, and a systems instructor. The 70th Squadron's missions included monitoring supply routes and oil pipelines susceptible of being targeted by insurgents. In addition to its two Seabird Seekers, the 70th Squadron received four SAMA CH2000s in 2006-2007. In 2008,

Cessna 208 The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

s were delivered to the other Iraqi Air Force reconnaissance unit, the 3rd Squadron. These replaced the CH2000s formerly operated by that unit, which passed them on to the 70th Squadron. In October 2010, the 70th Squadron relocated to

. During the Iraqi Army offensive against the

Mahdi Army The Mahdi Army () was an Iraqi Shia militia created by Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003 and disbanded in 2008. The Mahdi Army rose to international prominence on April 4, 2004, when it spearheaded the first major armed confrontation against the ...

in March 2008, the squadron flew 53 missions over Basra, providing 91 hours of intelligence and reconnaissance to

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

forces on the ground, including information about enemy troop concentration and

bomb damage assessment Bomb damage assessment (BDA), also known as battle damage assessment, is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target from a stand-off weapon, most typically a bomb or air launched missile. It is part of the larger discipline of combat ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{Iraqi Air Force squadrons Squadrons of Iraq Air force reconnaissance units and formations Military units and formations established in 2004