Lockheed Martin has delivered the first three of six C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force, the company announced.
The keys to the first plane were handed over at a ceremony in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Lockheed says Iraq will use the planes for intra-theater troop support and for humanitarian relief operations. It is hoped that the new western planes will integrate more seamlessly with NATO operations in the area.
The Iraqi Air Force transport fleet previously consisted of only Antonov An-32s and Beechcraft King Air 350s.
