New Iraqi equipment

[Randy]

When the US resupplies the new Iraqi forces where does the US get the Soviet equipment to do so? Is this rebuilt old Iraqi equipment, or is it off the shelf stuff? And if its off the shelf stuff, where does the US get it? Thanks

[pdoktar]

I´m thinking of refurbished, or not even refurbished old Iraqi Army equipment. At least small arms and rpgs, mortars etc. There should be huge piles of captured equipment in US hands and in various ex-army depots, controlled by coalition forces. However, I´m just guessing here.

[PlasmaKrab]

There were plans to extensively refit the Iraqi army with surplus US equipment, including M1A1 tanks and F16 fighters, but that was before the three years of insurgent bloodshed shifted the priority from armoured divisions to intervention teams and crowd-control units.

Meanwhile, most of the old prewar stocks were definitely scrapped when the army was disbanded in 2003. It seems like the CPA doesn't really want an indigenous weapon-building capability in Iraq right now. This means that the new Iraqi army has to rely on foreign new materials.

Several countries in the region provide that kind of help with US assent, like Jordan (http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2006/20060202_4079.html).

Other source: the various allied peacekeeping contingents which came on the field with outdated or unpractical materials and decided to leave them standing there, offering them to the Iraqi security forces. For example Poland has promised to let the 6 Mi-24W and other helicopters it is using there (http://www.why-war.com/news/2004/12/15/polandto.html), and some quantity of armor too IIRC. The Polish government has arranged for a sale of some sort too, and it sounds like a contract on modernising T-72s has just been scrapped.

China is also actively advertising for its capacity to provide cheap new stuff at unbeatable prices, and apparently a contract has been awarded for loads of "newest" Type-56-II rifles, and Norinco industrial company is pushing hard to do the same with other equipment, like medium-caliber MGs (http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2005/10/new-chinese-fn-magm240-762mm-gpmg.html) or bulletproof jackets.

And if you are looking for cheap recent Soviet-style gear and are wary of the implications of Chinese imports (like some US commentators are), you shouldn't turn a blind eye to the three quarters or the former-communist Eastern Europe countries which are now perfectly US-friendly and soon or already NATO members.

As you see, there is no real shortage of suppliers for the Iraqi forces, and probably there are more weapons available than what Iraq can currently afford!

[Randy]

Thanks for the replies. I kind of figured that some of the gear came from old Eastern Bloc supplies.

[blazejos]

Iraq has many equipment from pre 2003 war army +

from Poland
- Tarpan Honker terain vehicles
- should buy Sokol helicopters what now serve in polish stabilisation force
- buy fabric new Dzik-3 armoured patrol vehicle
- want modernised his T-72 to the PT-91 Twardy standard like this what serve in malysia army but with new ukrainian 120mm gun

From Hungary
- BTR-80 what serve before in hungarian army

From Ukraine
- Mi-17 helicopters

So as you saw in future iraqi army should be armed not only in Western arms but use only modernised and used ex-soviet weapons because is cheap and not so bad. Many ex-soviet satelites like poland in NATO use this weapons and are richest than iraq. Because change all weapons in all army is a very expensive task.

[PlasmaKrab]

So as you saw in future iraqi army should be armed not only in Western arms but use only modernised and used ex-soviet weapons because is cheap and not so bad. Many ex-soviet satelites like poland in NATO use this weapons and are richest than iraq. Because change all weapons in all army is a very expensive task.

Besides, the Iraqi veterans, official or not, are much more used to Soviet-style weapons and systems since they have been mainly running on these for more than rwenty years at least.
And it seems that they have pushed this requirement forward to their government and the CPA.

[thatguy96]

I know this doesn't matter in terms of SP's scope, but the variety of AK pattern weapons that have been seen in Iraq in use officially is pretty impressive. They've obviously either been donated by former East Bloc NATO members or purchased and then donated by the US, because in the mix one has seen Romanian and even East German produced AKs (these recognizable from their unique "stubbled" plastic stocks).

One also saw what could be considered really old Soviet style equipment in the form of early model T-55s and IIRC T-62s.

The largest usage of US-made equipment by the Iraqi forces has been their usage of HMMWVs.

[Gooseman2448]

Rebuilt T-72 Tanks for the Iraqi Army
Defense Industry Daily (http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/05/rebuilt-t72-tanks-for-the-iraqi-army/index.php)

Iraq Receives T-72s & BMPs - Another Armored Brigade Planned
Defense Industry Daily (http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/11/iraq-receives-t72s-bmps-another-armored-brigade-planned/index.php)

[PlasmaKrab]

Find a summary here:

http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/balance/Iraq.pdf

Looks partly up to date, and at least you have everything in one table!