L-3 Wins Iraqi F-16 Flight Simulator Contract

The Iraqi Air Force will buy two full mission trainers to prep for its three dozen new fighter jets.

By Rich Smith – Feb 19, 2013 at 11:36PM EST

On Monday, defense contractor L-3 Communications (LLL +0.00%) announced that its Link Simulation & Training division has won a contract from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to build two F-16 Block 52 Full Mission Trainers (FMTs). The flight simulators will be used to train pilots for the Iraqi Air Force.

In a statement announcing the sale, L-3 noted that Iraq's first-ever purchase of flight simulators from L-3 makes it its 11th international customer for the F-16 FMT. The company noted that it has sold a total of 140 such devices to U.S. and foreign militaries over nearly 40 years of building them.

Iraq does not currently possess any actual F-16s for its pilots to fly, of course. But in Sept. 2011, the country signed a contract to purchase 36 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin (LMT +0.86%) for a total of $8.4 billion.

Rich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”

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L-3 Wins Iraqi F-16 Flight Simulator Contract

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L-3 Wins Iraqi F-16 Flight Simulator Contract