US approves Bell 407M armed scout helicopter sale to Iraq for reconnaissance and strike missions
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On August 31, 2026, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Iraq valued at $800 million for Bell 407M armed reconnaissance helicopters, Bell 412EPX utility helicopters, weapons, and advanced sensor suites. The procurement restructures two distinct branches of Iraqi Army Aviation by delivering upgraded reconnaissance, transport, and air-to-surface strike capabilities. This acquisition addresses ongoing operational constraints by replacing aging platforms and mitigating supply chain risks associated with Russian-built rotorcraft.
The $800 million transaction covers an unspecified quantity of single-engine Bell 407M and twin-engine Bell 412EPX helicopters equipped with GAU-19 machine guns, M260 70 mm rocket launchers, MX-15HDI EO/IR sensors, and AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile warning systems. Built on the Bell 407GXi and Subaru Bell 412EPX airframes, respectively, the procurement pairs a 2,381 kg gross-weight light scout platform with a 5,535 kg gross-weight medium utility platform to handle concurrent reconnaissance and transport missions.
Related topic: Tunisia purchases 12 US Subaru Bell 412EPX multirole helicopters to improve combat and rescue missions
The Bell 407M is a light armed reconnaissance helicopter capable of detecting, identifying, tracking, and engaging ground targets by day or night using EO/IR sensors, machine guns, and 70 mm rockets. (Picture source: Bell)
On August 31, 2026, the U.S. State Department approved a possible $800 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Iraq for an unspecified number of Bell 407M armed reconnaissance helicopters and Bell 412EPX utility helicopters, alongside a package of weapons, sensors, communications, training, spares, and support that would restructure two different parts of Iraqi Army Aviation at the same time. Iraq specifically requested GAU-19 three-barrel machine guns, M260 seven-tube 2.75-inch/70 mm rocket launchers, L-3 Wescam MX-15HDI electro-optical/infrared sensors, AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile-launch detection systems, VHF radios, spare parts, specialized ground-support equipment, pilot and maintenance training, and U.S. government and contractor engineering and logistics support.
The FMS addresses three separate missions (transport, reconnaissance, and air-to-surface targeting), and does so with two Bell helicopters that differ sharply: the 407M has a maximum gross weight of 2,381 kg and one Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 engine, while the 412EPX reaches 5,535 kg internally and uses two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9 engines. Earlier U.S. planning had envisaged 15 Bell 407Ms, four Bell 412EPXs and 16 Bell 412Ms, producing a 35-aircraft operational fleet, plus 15 Bell 505 trainers, but the August 2026 authorization omits the 412M and gives no quantities, meaning the earlier 15/4/16 distribution can only be used to understand the previous replacement concept, not to calculate the final Iraqi order. The Bell 407M would likely replace or supplement a mission Iraq has performed with Bell 407 derivatives since the early 2010s.
Three T-407 trainers were delivered in 2010, followed by 24 armed IA-407s delivered in eight batches of three between August 2012 and April 2013, with the final aircraft delivered on April 3, 2013. Iraq’s 407 force consequently reached 30 units when 24 armed scouts, three gunships, and three trainers are counted, creating an established pool of pilots, maintainers, instructors, and operational experience around the airframe family. The 407M is nevertheless a different combat configuration from those earlier 407 variants. It uses the 407GXi airframe with a base empty weight of 1,224 kg, a standard internal maximum gross weight of 2,268 kg, an optional internal maximum gross weight of 2,381 kg, and a maximum gross weight of 2,722 kg when carrying external loads. At the 2,381-kg internal limit, the difference from the base empty weight is 1,157 kg, effectively Bell’s quoted 1,156 kg internal useful load after rounding.
That figure is the central constraint on the Iraqi combat configuration because it must absorb crew, fuel, mission electronics, sensor weight, defensive equipment, ammunition, and any internal equipment before the aircraft reaches its gross weight limit. Bell separately lists 341 kg of external stores and a 1,406-kg cargo-hook capacity, figures that place the 407M firmly in the armed scout category rather than in the same lift class as Iraq’s Mi-17s. The propulsion and fuel figures illustrate the same limitation. The 407M uses one Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 turboshaft producing 643 kW for takeoff and 567 kW maximum continuous power through a dual digital FADEC. Maximum cruise speed is 246 km/h, range at long-range cruise is 624 km, and maximum endurance reaches 4.0 hours under the specified standard maximum gross weight, ISA, standard fuel, no-reserve condition at sea level.
Standard fuel capacity is 482.8 liters, and the auxiliary installation adds 71.9 liters, taking total potential fuel capacity to 554.7 liters. The aircraft seats one pilot and six additional occupants, has 2.4 m³ of cabin volume and 0.5 m³ of aft baggage volume, while hover ceiling is 13,550 ft in ground effect and 11,940 ft out of ground effect. These figures matter because an Iraqi combat sortie will not simultaneously exploit maximum fuel, maximum endurance, maximum armament, and maximum defensive fit without weight consequences. A fully fueled 407M equipped with the MX-15HDI, weapon pylons, missile-warning equipment, ammunition, and crew consumes a substantial part of the useful load margin before additional mission equipment is considered.
The aircraft therefore has to be configured by sortie: more fuel extends time on station and transit radius, while more rockets, ammunition, or defensive equipment reduces the remaining mass available for fuel and other payload. The Iraqi weapons request provides a relatively precise indication of how the 407M is expected to work tactically. The L-3 Wescam MX-15HDI places a stabilized electro-optical and infrared sensor at the center of the aircraft’s reconnaissance and targeting function, allowing crews to search, identify, and track targets by day or night without relying on visual acquisition from the cockpit. The 407M can integrate EO/IR imagery into cockpit multifunction displays and combine the sensor with the TekFusion Global Pathfinder Mission Management System and Weapons Management System, allowing target position and range data to move directly from detection into the engagement process.
Launch Acceptable Regions and Weapons Engagement Zones can be displayed on the moving map, reducing the need to calculate weapon geometry separately from navigation. The modular Ordnance Mounting System initially supported two to four configurable weapon stations, while the later OMS 2.0 configuration supports four to six stations. Iraq’s M260 launcher contains seven 70 mm rocket tubes, so two launchers provide 14 ready rockets and four provide 28. A six-launcher arrangement would mathematically provide 42 tubes, but that should not be treated as an Iraqi combat load because the authorization does not define the number of launchers per helicopter and the aircraft’s external stores constrain any theoretical station count. The GAU-19 adds a three-barrel direct-fire machine-gun capability.
Bell has also integrated Hydra 70 rockets, APKWS, Hellfire and Griffin missiles, and 7.62 mm and .50-caliber gun installations with the 407M, but APKWS, Hellfire and Griffin are absent from Iraq’s August 2026 package and therefore cannot be counted as part of the approved Iraqi armament. The defensive fit is closely connected to Iraq’s earlier combat experience. Iraqi IA-407s were used against the Islamic State, and on October 8, 2014, one aircraft was shot down by a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, killing both crew members. The inclusion of the AN/AAR-60 Block 2 Missile Launch Detection System in the 2026 package therefore addresses a threat that previously destroyed an Iraqi 407. The 407M itself includes armored pilot seats, a self-sealing fuel system, ballistic-tolerant main-rotor blades, engine infrared suppression, rollover bulkheads, and a transmission designed to continue operating for 30 minutes after loss of lubrication.
Bell’s wider survivability configuration can include chaff and flare dispensers, laser-warning equipment, radar-warning equipment, and DIRCM, but the August 2026 FMS does not establish that every optional defensive subsystem will be purchased. The operational tradeoff, again, comes back to weight. Adding missile-warning equipment, flare dispensers, armor, sensor hardware, and ammunition increases survivability and combat effectiveness but consumes part of the same internal useful load margin needed for fuel and crew. The 407M therefore improves Iraq’s ability to detect and respond to missile launches compared with the earlier IA-407 force, but it remains a single-engine light helicopter whose survivability depends on warning, avoidance, signature reduction and limited ballistic protection rather than the propulsion redundancy available on a twin-engine helicopter such as the 412EPX.
The Bell 412EPX, subsequently, might address a substantially heavier mission set. Its maximum internal gross weight is 5,535 kg, 3,154 kg greater than the 407M. Maximum external gross weight also rises to 5,897 kg. Internal useful load reaches 2,443 kg, about 2.11 times the 407M’s maximum internal useful load, while external useful load reaches 2,805 kg. The cargo hook is rated at 2,268 kg, 862 kg more than the 407M’s capacity, an increase of 61%. Cabin capacity also rises from one pilot plus six occupants in the 407M to one pilot plus 14 passengers in the 412EPX. The 412EPX cabin provides 6.2 m³ compared with 2.4 m³ in the 407M, a 3.8-m³ increase, while baggage volume adds another 0.8 m³. Standard fuel capacity is 1,251 liters, 768 liters more than the 407M, and auxiliary tanks can add as much as 617 liters for a maximum cited total of 1,868 liters.
Interestingly, despite carrying more than twice the useful load, the 412EPX gives up only 18 km/h in cruise speed, reaching 228 km/h against 246 km/h for the 407M, while its range is actually 45 km greater at 669 km against 624 km. Endurance is 3.8 hours, only 0.2 hours below the 407M’s maximum cited figure. These numbers explain why the two helicopters are not interchangeable: the 407M is optimized around sensor and weapon carriage inside a lightweight airframe, while the 412EPX provides the mass, cabin volume, and external lift capacity required for Iraq’s personnel and cargo movement. The EPX emerged from Bell and Subaru’s work associated with Japan’s UH-X program, with the prototype delivered to Japan’s Ministry of Defense in February 2019 and serial production of the related JGSDF UH-2 beginning in 2022. The 412EPX also addresses several weaknesses that matter in a hot-weather utility helicopter fleet.
It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9 engines rated at 1,122 hp each for takeoff, for 2,244 hp of installed takeoff power before Twin-Pac and transmission limitations. Compared with the 412EPI, the EPX increases internal gross weight by 300 lb, from about 11,900 lb to 12,200 lb, and raises available torque output by 11%. Revised metallurgy and transmission gear geometry permit continuous operation at maximum torque, removing earlier restrictions on how long maximum transmission torque could be used. That change matters more operationally than a simple horsepower comparison because utility helicopters in high temperature or at altitude are often limited by transmission torque rather than by nominal engine output. The EPX transmission also has a 30-minute run-dry rating after loss of lubrication, while the twin-engine configuration supports one-engine-inoperative operation.
BLR Aerospace’s FastFin further increases the tail rotor effectiveness in hover at density altitudes reaching 14,000 ft, and testing included simulated engine-failure operations near 7,000-ft pressure altitude. The cockpit uses four BasiX-Pro high-definition displays, Garmin GTN 750 and GTN 650 touchscreen units, the Honeywell SPZ-7600 three-axis automatic flight control system, and a Power Situation Indicator that combines torque, gas-generator speed, and measured gas temperature so crews can immediately identify the limiting parameter. The most important issue for Iraq is consequently not whether the 407M or 412EPX is more capable in isolation, but how many of each are bought and which existing fleets they replace.
Earlier planning envisaged 15 Bell 407Ms for the light armed requirement and 20 Bell 412 helicopters, four 412EPXs and 16 412Ms, for the utility requirement. That structure produced a ratio of 15 light armed helicopters to 20 utility helicopters, or three 407Ms for every four 412s, alongside 15 Bell 505 trainers. Compared with Iraq’s historical 30 Bell 407 inventory, a 15-aircraft 407M force would represent a 50% reduction in airframe count if it replaced the entire earlier 407 fleet one-for-two, although the actual comparison is more complicated because the earlier 30 included three trainers and three gunships rather than 30 identically configured armed scouts.
Against the 24 IA-407 armed scouts alone, fifteen 407Ms would equal 62.5% of the previous armed-scout fleet, a reduction of nine aircraft or 37.5%. The earlier utility plan of 20 Bell 412-family aircraft was intended to take over missions associated with Russian-made Mi-17s, but the August 2026 authorization lists only the 412EPX, leaving open whether Baghdad has reduced the planned utility fleet, intends to substitute EPXs for the previously planned 412Ms, or will separate the purchases into different phases. Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine increased the pressure to resolve that question because access to Mi-17 parts and sustainment became more difficult.
This is making continued dependence on Russian support less predictable over a full fleet life cycle. A shift to Bell would reduce manufacturer diversity, but not propulsion diversity. Fifteen 407Ms would require 15 installed Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 engines, while 20 412EPXs would require 40 installed PT6T-9 engines, excluding spare engines. Iraq would therefore still need separate engine workshops, spare parts stocks, test equipment, technician qualifications, and maintenance schedules for the two fleets.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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On August 31, 2026, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Iraq valued at $800 million for Bell 407M armed reconnaissance helicopters, Bell 412EPX utility helicopters, weapons, and advanced sensor suites. The procurement restructures two distinct branches of Iraqi Army Aviation by delivering upgraded reconnaissance, transport, and air-to-surface strike capabilities. This acquisition addresses ongoing operational constraints by replacing aging platforms and mitigating supply chain risks associated with Russian-built rotorcraft.
The $800 million transaction covers an unspecified quantity of single-engine Bell 407M and twin-engine Bell 412EPX helicopters equipped with GAU-19 machine guns, M260 70 mm rocket launchers, MX-15HDI EO/IR sensors, and AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile warning systems. Built on the Bell 407GXi and Subaru Bell 412EPX airframes, respectively, the procurement pairs a 2,381 kg gross-weight light scout platform with a 5,535 kg gross-weight medium utility platform to handle concurrent reconnaissance and transport missions.
Related topic: Tunisia purchases 12 US Subaru Bell 412EPX multirole helicopters to improve combat and rescue missions
The Bell 407M is a light armed reconnaissance helicopter capable of detecting, identifying, tracking, and engaging ground targets by day or night using EO/IR sensors, machine guns, and 70 mm rockets. (Picture source: Bell)
On August 31, 2026, the U.S. State Department approved a possible $800 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Iraq for an unspecified number of Bell 407M armed reconnaissance helicopters and Bell 412EPX utility helicopters, alongside a package of weapons, sensors, communications, training, spares, and support that would restructure two different parts of Iraqi Army Aviation at the same time. Iraq specifically requested GAU-19 three-barrel machine guns, M260 seven-tube 2.75-inch/70 mm rocket launchers, L-3 Wescam MX-15HDI electro-optical/infrared sensors, AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile-launch detection systems, VHF radios, spare parts, specialized ground-support equipment, pilot and maintenance training, and U.S. government and contractor engineering and logistics support.
The FMS addresses three separate missions (transport, reconnaissance, and air-to-surface targeting), and does so with two Bell helicopters that differ sharply: the 407M has a maximum gross weight of 2,381 kg and one Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 engine, while the 412EPX reaches 5,535 kg internally and uses two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9 engines. Earlier U.S. planning had envisaged 15 Bell 407Ms, four Bell 412EPXs and 16 Bell 412Ms, producing a 35-aircraft operational fleet, plus 15 Bell 505 trainers, but the August 2026 authorization omits the 412M and gives no quantities, meaning the earlier 15/4/16 distribution can only be used to understand the previous replacement concept, not to calculate the final Iraqi order. The Bell 407M would likely replace or supplement a mission Iraq has performed with Bell 407 derivatives since the early 2010s.
Three T-407 trainers were delivered in 2010, followed by 24 armed IA-407s delivered in eight batches of three between August 2012 and April 2013, with the final aircraft delivered on April 3, 2013. Iraq’s 407 force consequently reached 30 units when 24 armed scouts, three gunships, and three trainers are counted, creating an established pool of pilots, maintainers, instructors, and operational experience around the airframe family. The 407M is nevertheless a different combat configuration from those earlier 407 variants. It uses the 407GXi airframe with a base empty weight of 1,224 kg, a standard internal maximum gross weight of 2,268 kg, an optional internal maximum gross weight of 2,381 kg, and a maximum gross weight of 2,722 kg when carrying external loads. At the 2,381-kg internal limit, the difference from the base empty weight is 1,157 kg, effectively Bell’s quoted 1,156 kg internal useful load after rounding.
That figure is the central constraint on the Iraqi combat configuration because it must absorb crew, fuel, mission electronics, sensor weight, defensive equipment, ammunition, and any internal equipment before the aircraft reaches its gross weight limit. Bell separately lists 341 kg of external stores and a 1,406-kg cargo-hook capacity, figures that place the 407M firmly in the armed scout category rather than in the same lift class as Iraq’s Mi-17s. The propulsion and fuel figures illustrate the same limitation. The 407M uses one Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 turboshaft producing 643 kW for takeoff and 567 kW maximum continuous power through a dual digital FADEC. Maximum cruise speed is 246 km/h, range at long-range cruise is 624 km, and maximum endurance reaches 4.0 hours under the specified standard maximum gross weight, ISA, standard fuel, no-reserve condition at sea level.
Standard fuel capacity is 482.8 liters, and the auxiliary installation adds 71.9 liters, taking total potential fuel capacity to 554.7 liters. The aircraft seats one pilot and six additional occupants, has 2.4 m³ of cabin volume and 0.5 m³ of aft baggage volume, while hover ceiling is 13,550 ft in ground effect and 11,940 ft out of ground effect. These figures matter because an Iraqi combat sortie will not simultaneously exploit maximum fuel, maximum endurance, maximum armament, and maximum defensive fit without weight consequences. A fully fueled 407M equipped with the MX-15HDI, weapon pylons, missile-warning equipment, ammunition, and crew consumes a substantial part of the useful load margin before additional mission equipment is considered.
The aircraft therefore has to be configured by sortie: more fuel extends time on station and transit radius, while more rockets, ammunition, or defensive equipment reduces the remaining mass available for fuel and other payload. The Iraqi weapons request provides a relatively precise indication of how the 407M is expected to work tactically. The L-3 Wescam MX-15HDI places a stabilized electro-optical and infrared sensor at the center of the aircraft’s reconnaissance and targeting function, allowing crews to search, identify, and track targets by day or night without relying on visual acquisition from the cockpit. The 407M can integrate EO/IR imagery into cockpit multifunction displays and combine the sensor with the TekFusion Global Pathfinder Mission Management System and Weapons Management System, allowing target position and range data to move directly from detection into the engagement process.
Launch Acceptable Regions and Weapons Engagement Zones can be displayed on the moving map, reducing the need to calculate weapon geometry separately from navigation. The modular Ordnance Mounting System initially supported two to four configurable weapon stations, while the later OMS 2.0 configuration supports four to six stations. Iraq’s M260 launcher contains seven 70 mm rocket tubes, so two launchers provide 14 ready rockets and four provide 28. A six-launcher arrangement would mathematically provide 42 tubes, but that should not be treated as an Iraqi combat load because the authorization does not define the number of launchers per helicopter and the aircraft’s external stores constrain any theoretical station count. The GAU-19 adds a three-barrel direct-fire machine-gun capability.
Bell has also integrated Hydra 70 rockets, APKWS, Hellfire and Griffin missiles, and 7.62 mm and .50-caliber gun installations with the 407M, but APKWS, Hellfire and Griffin are absent from Iraq’s August 2026 package and therefore cannot be counted as part of the approved Iraqi armament. The defensive fit is closely connected to Iraq’s earlier combat experience. Iraqi IA-407s were used against the Islamic State, and on October 8, 2014, one aircraft was shot down by a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, killing both crew members. The inclusion of the AN/AAR-60 Block 2 Missile Launch Detection System in the 2026 package therefore addresses a threat that previously destroyed an Iraqi 407. The 407M itself includes armored pilot seats, a self-sealing fuel system, ballistic-tolerant main-rotor blades, engine infrared suppression, rollover bulkheads, and a transmission designed to continue operating for 30 minutes after loss of lubrication.
Bell’s wider survivability configuration can include chaff and flare dispensers, laser-warning equipment, radar-warning equipment, and DIRCM, but the August 2026 FMS does not establish that every optional defensive subsystem will be purchased. The operational tradeoff, again, comes back to weight. Adding missile-warning equipment, flare dispensers, armor, sensor hardware, and ammunition increases survivability and combat effectiveness but consumes part of the same internal useful load margin needed for fuel and crew. The 407M therefore improves Iraq’s ability to detect and respond to missile launches compared with the earlier IA-407 force, but it remains a single-engine light helicopter whose survivability depends on warning, avoidance, signature reduction and limited ballistic protection rather than the propulsion redundancy available on a twin-engine helicopter such as the 412EPX.
The Bell 412EPX, subsequently, might address a substantially heavier mission set. Its maximum internal gross weight is 5,535 kg, 3,154 kg greater than the 407M. Maximum external gross weight also rises to 5,897 kg. Internal useful load reaches 2,443 kg, about 2.11 times the 407M’s maximum internal useful load, while external useful load reaches 2,805 kg. The cargo hook is rated at 2,268 kg, 862 kg more than the 407M’s capacity, an increase of 61%. Cabin capacity also rises from one pilot plus six occupants in the 407M to one pilot plus 14 passengers in the 412EPX. The 412EPX cabin provides 6.2 m³ compared with 2.4 m³ in the 407M, a 3.8-m³ increase, while baggage volume adds another 0.8 m³. Standard fuel capacity is 1,251 liters, 768 liters more than the 407M, and auxiliary tanks can add as much as 617 liters for a maximum cited total of 1,868 liters.
Interestingly, despite carrying more than twice the useful load, the 412EPX gives up only 18 km/h in cruise speed, reaching 228 km/h against 246 km/h for the 407M, while its range is actually 45 km greater at 669 km against 624 km. Endurance is 3.8 hours, only 0.2 hours below the 407M’s maximum cited figure. These numbers explain why the two helicopters are not interchangeable: the 407M is optimized around sensor and weapon carriage inside a lightweight airframe, while the 412EPX provides the mass, cabin volume, and external lift capacity required for Iraq’s personnel and cargo movement. The EPX emerged from Bell and Subaru’s work associated with Japan’s UH-X program, with the prototype delivered to Japan’s Ministry of Defense in February 2019 and serial production of the related JGSDF UH-2 beginning in 2022. The 412EPX also addresses several weaknesses that matter in a hot-weather utility helicopter fleet.
It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9 engines rated at 1,122 hp each for takeoff, for 2,244 hp of installed takeoff power before Twin-Pac and transmission limitations. Compared with the 412EPI, the EPX increases internal gross weight by 300 lb, from about 11,900 lb to 12,200 lb, and raises available torque output by 11%. Revised metallurgy and transmission gear geometry permit continuous operation at maximum torque, removing earlier restrictions on how long maximum transmission torque could be used. That change matters more operationally than a simple horsepower comparison because utility helicopters in high temperature or at altitude are often limited by transmission torque rather than by nominal engine output. The EPX transmission also has a 30-minute run-dry rating after loss of lubrication, while the twin-engine configuration supports one-engine-inoperative operation.
BLR Aerospace’s FastFin further increases the tail rotor effectiveness in hover at density altitudes reaching 14,000 ft, and testing included simulated engine-failure operations near 7,000-ft pressure altitude. The cockpit uses four BasiX-Pro high-definition displays, Garmin GTN 750 and GTN 650 touchscreen units, the Honeywell SPZ-7600 three-axis automatic flight control system, and a Power Situation Indicator that combines torque, gas-generator speed, and measured gas temperature so crews can immediately identify the limiting parameter. The most important issue for Iraq is consequently not whether the 407M or 412EPX is more capable in isolation, but how many of each are bought and which existing fleets they replace.
Earlier planning envisaged 15 Bell 407Ms for the light armed requirement and 20 Bell 412 helicopters, four 412EPXs and 16 412Ms, for the utility requirement. That structure produced a ratio of 15 light armed helicopters to 20 utility helicopters, or three 407Ms for every four 412s, alongside 15 Bell 505 trainers. Compared with Iraq’s historical 30 Bell 407 inventory, a 15-aircraft 407M force would represent a 50% reduction in airframe count if it replaced the entire earlier 407 fleet one-for-two, although the actual comparison is more complicated because the earlier 30 included three trainers and three gunships rather than 30 identically configured armed scouts.
Against the 24 IA-407 armed scouts alone, fifteen 407Ms would equal 62.5% of the previous armed-scout fleet, a reduction of nine aircraft or 37.5%. The earlier utility plan of 20 Bell 412-family aircraft was intended to take over missions associated with Russian-made Mi-17s, but the August 2026 authorization lists only the 412EPX, leaving open whether Baghdad has reduced the planned utility fleet, intends to substitute EPXs for the previously planned 412Ms, or will separate the purchases into different phases. Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine increased the pressure to resolve that question because access to Mi-17 parts and sustainment became more difficult.
This is making continued dependence on Russian support less predictable over a full fleet life cycle. A shift to Bell would reduce manufacturer diversity, but not propulsion diversity. Fifteen 407Ms would require 15 installed Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 engines, while 20 412EPXs would require 40 installed PT6T-9 engines, excluding spare engines. Iraq would therefore still need separate engine workshops, spare parts stocks, test equipment, technician qualifications, and maintenance schedules for the two fleets.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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