Radar is a crutch, Frequencies are a luxury
Seemingly overnight it was decided to rework the Iraq airspace. This will be done, this will be done now. No regard for infrastructure, training, procedures, employee input, briefings, or automation changes. In a matter of days, 2 new radar positions will be developed.
The Iraq radar , land line, and radio infrastructure is old, broke, and not holding on well. Radar coverage does not cover half of the Iraq airspace. The primary means to contact 2 northern towers is a prepaid cell phone. Bleed over from improper transmitter placement makes pilot to controller communication a guessing game. Direct line communication with adjacent FIR's may be available on 1 out of 4 positions that require it. Automation is so bad that operational radar tracks drop from the radar scopes on an everyday, every hour frequency.
Is this really the time to stretch the rubber band even further?