The Czech Republic is planning to sell a number of light attack aircraft to Iraq and to modernise its helicopter fleet, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said.

“The Czech Republic will offer Iraq L-159 combat aircraft, and we are also ready to take part in the upgrading of Iraqi helicopters,” he added.

The L-159 ALCA is a single-seat light multirole combat aircraft designed to perform a range of air-to-air, air-to-ground and reconnaissance missions.

The aircraft is equipped with advanced multimode radar and a range of Nato-standard payloads that include air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and laser guided bombs.

About 36 L-159 ALCAs were planned to be sold by the Czech Defence Ministry in January, according to RIA Novosti.