With the help of USAF airmen, the Iraqi Air Force has opened its flying training school at Kirkuk AB, Iraq. Its first class will have 10 students and two Cessna-172 aircraft, reports SSgt. Jared Marquis. The goal, according to Lt. Col. Mark Bennett, commander of USAF’s 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron at Kirkuk, is to train 80 fixed-wing and 80 rotary wing pilots per year. The 52nd EFTS is training novice pilots and instructor pilots from the ranks of former Iraqi pilots. Bennett says USAF has been working on the Iraqi flying school as part of the plan to return Kirkuk to the Iraqi Air Force.
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.