Iraq's Military Equipment

From Jane's World Armies (1996)

Iraq Military Assets

COMMAND & CONTROL ARMY REPUBLICAN GUARD AIR FORCE MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Allied Military Assets

U.S. SHIPS Aircraft Carriers George Washington Independence Cruisers Destroyers USS Barry USS Carney USS Ingersoll USS John Young USS John McCain Frigates Submarines Amphibious Group Other ships U.S. AIRCRAFT Fighters Support craft U.S.TROOPS BRITISH ASSETS

CNN Analysis: The U.S. Arsenal

There has been no military equipment procurement from recognised sources since August 1990.

As a consequence of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict and resulting destruction of large amounts of equipment, the Iraqi armed forces are in need of a complete range of modern equipment for all three services. Once UN sanctions end, this area will become an extremely attractive market for the majority of the world's defence manufacturers.

Tank and Anti-tank Capability A key element in the Iraqi defence manufacturing network is believed to be a factory established before the war to assemble the Soviet-designed T-72, the most sophisticated tank in Iraq's arsenal. The first Iraqi version of the T-72, called the `Lion of Babylon', came off the production line in 1989. Only a few of these indigenous tanks are presently in service but sources say that the factory is now providing the spare parts to keep Iraq's estimated 500 T-72s in operation. Iraq made sure that a sizeable quantity of such high-quality tanks survived the Gulf War, although hundreds were probably knocked out. The surviving T-72s, and much of the elite Republican Guard to which they were allocated, were moved well out of harm's way before the allies mounted their big push into Kuwait in February 1991.

The survival of the T-72s, and of other lesser quality MBTs in the Iraqi arsenal, has helped to ensure that the ground forces are now the mainstay of Baghdad's military capability. (Apart from the T-72s, the other tanks in the inventory include T-62s and a smaller number of T-54s and T-55s). Estimates of the total number of MBTs in the army's arsenal vary, the latest US DoD estimate being in the region of 2,000. Even though this is a huge decrease from the pre-`Desert Storm' estimate of 5,800-7,000, it is still sufficient to give pause to any neighbouring Third World power contemplating a hostile incursion into Iraqi territory.

Photos: Iraqi main battle tanks

According to informed sources among Iraqi defectors, Iraqi elite units still get the best equipment. For instance, the good quality T-72s are assigned to the Republican Guard, while the tanks that are less effective or need spare parts are mostly assigned to the regular army. The Iraqi forces that seized Arbil at the end of August included elements of the Republican Guard, equipped with T-72s. However, it would appear that even the Republican Guard has to be content with much smaller allocations of armour compared with pre-war levels. It has been estimated that each armoured division of the Republican Guard used to have around 500 MBTs and APCs and that this number has now shrunk to about 120.

Many analysts believe that Iraqi ground forces have retained a very strong capability in one particular area: anti-tank warfare. While the army lost large numbers of anti-tank weapons during the war, it is still believed to retain quantities of good equipment - including MILAN man-portable guided missiles; HOT, AS-11s and AS-12s mounted on PAH-1 and SA.342 helicopters; and AT-2s mounted on Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters. In addition, there is a range of weapons mounted on armoured vehicles, including HOT, MILAN, AT-1, AT-3 and AT-4 guided missiles. The army still has several thousand 85 mm and 100 mm anti-tank guns and heavy recoilless rifles. It also retains a certain capability in the area of tube artillery, although it lost a lot of equipment during the war. It has an estimated 150 self-propelled artillery weapons, ranging from 122 mm to 155 mm (in comparison with an estimated 500 before the war) and probably about 1,800 towed artillery weapons (105 mm to 155 mm) compared with up to 5,000 before the war.

© Jane's Information Group 1996 No reuse or redistribution permitted.

COMMAND & CONTROL  |  ARMY  |  REPUBLICAN GUARD |  MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Iraq Standoff Main  |  The Dispute  |  The Diplomacy  |  Military Moves  |  Inside Iraq

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