Iraq's Military Forces

The Iraqi military is composed of three main bodies: the regular army, the “Republican Guard” and the “Special Republican Guard”.

The regular army is made up of five army corps and the “Republican Guard” comprises two. The armed forces comprise 23 divisions, of which 17 are of the regular army (3 armored, 2 mechanized, and 11 infantry) and six are the Republican Guard (3 armored, 1 mechanized and 2 infantry).

On the eve of the Gulf War, the Iraqi army comprised 65 divisions (most infantry), some of which were disbanded gradually after the war.

The Iraqi Army

Personnel
The regular Iraqi Army comprises approximately 400,000 officers and enlisted personnel.

Weapons

• Tanks: approx. 2500 – 2300.
  including T-54/5, T-59/69 made in China, T-62 400, T-72.
• Recon. Armored vehicles: approx. 1500.
  including BRDM-2, AML-60/90, EE-3 JARARCA, EE-9 CASCAVEL.
• Combat APCs: 900 BMP-1/2
• APCs: 2000.
  including BTR-60, MTLB, YW-531, A1/A2, M-113, PANHARD M-3, E-11 URUTU.
• Artillery: approx. 2000 – 2100 towed and self-propelled guns and howitzers (mostly towed).
  • Towed artillery – 105 mm: M-56, 122 mm: D-1230, M-1938, 130 mm: TYPE 59-1, M-46, 155 mm: M-144, GHN-45 G-5
  • Self-propelled artillery: 122 mm: 2SI, 152 mm: 2S3, 155 mm: AUF-1, M-109 (GCT)
• Anti-tank rocket launcher: 250.
  including 107 mm, 122 mm: BM-21, 127 mm: ASTROS-2, 132 mm: BM-13/16, 262 mm: ABABEEL.
• Mortars: 81 mm, 120 mm, 160 mm, and 240 mm.
• Anti-tank guided weapons: AT-3 SAGGER (including BRDM-2), report of AT-4, SS-11, MILAN, HOT.
• Anti-tank guided gun: 85 mm, 100 mm (towed).

The Iraqi Air Force

Personnel
30,000 soldiers (including 15,000 in the Air Defense Forces)

Order of air battle:

• Ground attack combat aircraft: approx. 130. Including MiG-23EN, Mirage F-1, Su-20, Su-21, Su-25.
• Combat aircraft: approx. 180. Including F-7, MiG-21, MiG-23, Mirage F-1, MiG-29.
• Recon. Aircraft: including MiG-25.
• Transport aircraft (tankers): including two IL-76, AN-24, AN-26, AN-2.
• Light aircraft: including EMB-312, AS-202, approx. fifty L-39s, approx. 25 PC-7s, thirty PC-9s.
• Helicopters: approx. 350 (80 armed). Approx. eighty BO-105, Mi-24, sa-316 with SA-321 As-12 (some armed with EXOCET missiles), SA-342.
• Transport helicopters: approx. 270 including – heavy: Mi-6, medium: SA-61, BELL 214 ST, Mi-4, Mi-17, Mi-8, SA-330. Light: AB-212 (SAR), BK-117, HUGHES-300C, HUGHES-500D, HUGHES-530F.
• Missiles:
  • Air-to-Ground: AS-30L, AS-12, AS-9, AS-11, AS-4, C-601.
  • Air-to-Air: AA-2/6/7/8/10, R-530, R-550.

Air Defense:

• Anti-Aircraft guns: approx. 5,000. Including 23 mm self-propelled Z50-23-4. 37 mm double-barrel M-1939. 57 mm: self-propelled ZSU-57-2. 85 mm, 100 mm, 130 mm.
• Ground-to-Air missiles: ROLAND, SA-2/3/6/7/8/9/13/14/16.

The Iraqi Navy

Personnel: 2500

Bases: Basra (limited installations), El Zabir, Umm Qasr (currently closed).

Order of Battle:

• A frigate used for training with two anti-tank torpedo launchers.
• A soviet missile boat (OSA-I) with four SS-N-2A STYX.
• Coastal patrol vessels: 7, one soviet BOGOMOL, 6 patrol speed boats.
• Anti-mine vessels: 4; two Soviet YEVGENYA and two Yugoslav NETSINs. One yacht with a landing pad for helicopters.

Additional Iraqi Forces

• Border Patrol forces are operationally subordinate to the regular army (and administratively to the Ministry of Interior) including the Border Patrol brigades.
• The Special Republican Guard is responsible for internal defense. It is not directly under the command of the regular army. It carries out military operations and activities. This body, part of the inner circle, is considered the most trusted body in the regime. It is responsible for protecting the president and his family as well as VIPs, institutions and installations in Baghdad and its environs. It comprises 15 battalions.
• As part of the Iraqi perception that it is necessary to base power in a number of concentrated centers, the Iraqi regime also involves other security forces, for example the “Fadai Saddam” operating in the central mountains of Iraq. The regime monitors and controls the general security; at least in southern Iraq against the opposition (Shi'ites). In time of emergency, Iraqi authorities are likely to recruit hundreds of thousands of civilians in the framework of the “The People’s Army” as occurred in the February 1998 against the U.S.

Operational Capabilities of Iraqi Army

A number of sources negatively influence current capabilities of the Iraqi Army. To our assessment, these include first and foremost, the embargo placed on Iraq and the inability to purchase principal weapons systems, spare parts and military equipment. This is in addition to the attrition caused by ongoing, general security activities against opposition (Shiites in the South and Kurds in the North), and harsh service conditions, especially in the regular army, which cause a lack of personnel in the units. These factors weaken the Iraqi Armed Forces’ capabilities. The most adversely affected body to our assessment is the regular army, given its low priority in regard to procurements.

In the last few years, the Iraqi Army has conducted a series of operations designed to rehabilitate the weapons systems known as the Nadaa El-Kaid (“Commander’s Call”) in order to prevent the deterioration of the army’s operational capabilities. The Iraqi Army has conducted at least seven such operations, (the last of which, called Nadaa El-Kaid 7 was completed in March 98). The rehabilitation program was conducted with the coordination of all the armed forces and included varied equipment: artillery pieces, tanks, APCs, armored vehicles, machine guns, air and naval weapons systems, “soft” vehicles (light vehicles, buses and trucks, including tank movers), radar, communications equipment, and other military equipment. To our assessment, the Inadaa El-Kaid rehabilitation operations are principally “cosmetic” and their contribution to the operational fitness of the Iraqi Army is not particularly high, due to the lack of spare parts in the Army’s storage houses.