Iraq Defense Industry and Military Procurement Profile
Iraq carries its post-ISIS army on an American backbone while layering its air defenses with South Korean and Turkish systems — and makes procurement decisions in the shadow of parallel armed structures. The new era opened by Erdoğan’s 22 April 2024 visit is deepening in 2026 through the Commander-in-Chief Office’s Ankara contacts. This country file maps Iraq’s defense procurement architecture, updated as developments reach the public record.
Iraq’s Defense Profile in 60 Seconds
- Defense budget: ~$6.0-6.3B (2025-2026, ~2.5% of GDP) — PMF spending separate and opaque
- Active personnel: ~193,000 armed forces + 150,000-200,000 PMF + Peshmerga (parallel structures)
- Air power: 34 F-16IQ (chronic readiness problems), 24 T-50IQ
- KM-SAM II: 8 batteries, $2.6-2.8B — signed September 2024, deliveries pending
- Purchase of ~20 Turkish short-range air-defense/counter-drone systems finalized in 2026
- The 2021 TB2/T129 intent never became a contract; 27 memoranda at the 2024 Erdoğan visit
Force Structure: The Parallel-Forces Problem
The Iraqi Armed Forces comprise the Army, Air Force, Air Defense Command, Navy and the separately commanded Counter-Terrorism Service — roughly 193,000 active personnel. But the picture does not end there: the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), answering to the Prime Minister’s office, add 150,000-200,000 personnel with spending outside the defense budget, and the KRG’s Peshmerga form another structure in the north. Procurement decisions are made in the shadow of this fragmented architecture and the influence of Iran-backed groups. The official defense budget runs at $6.0-6.3 billion in 2025-2026.
Air Power and Air Defense: The Critical Gap
The air force’s backbone is the F-16IQ fleet — 34 aircraft remaining at Balad from the 36 ordered in 2011-2012 — with chronically low readiness rates. The training/light-attack line rests on 24 T-50IQs from a $1.1 billion 2013 contract. The real transformation is in air defense: a $2.6-2.8 billion September 2024 contract with LIG Nex1 covers 8 KM-SAM II (Cheongung-II) batteries, with deliveries pending. The low-altitude layer will be filled by the roughly 20 Turkish short-range air-defense/counter-drone systems whose purchase was finalized in 2026. The CH-4B armed drones bought from China in 2015 have been largely grounded by maintenance problems.
Procurement Picture
| Supplier | Systems | Status |
| United States | 34 F-16IQ, M1A1 Abrams, training | Conventional backbone; readiness problems persist |
| South Korea | 24 T-50IQ; 8 KM-SAM II batteries + radars | KM-SAM contract September 2024 ($2.6-2.8B); deliveries pending |
| Turkey | ~20 short-range air-defense/counter-drone systems | Finalized 2026; manufacturer not officially named. The 2021 TB2/T129 intent remained contractless |
| France (Airbus) | 14 Caracals (incl. 12 H225M) | September 2024 contract (~$420M); first two delivered April 2025 |
| China | CH-4B armed drones | From 2015; largely ineffective due to maintenance |
Relations with Turkey: The 2024 Turning Point
| Date | Development |
| August 2021 | TB2 and T129 acquisition intent announced — never became a contract (intent) |
| 22 April 2024 | Erdoğan’s Baghdad visit (first since 2011): 27 documents including security and military-training memoranda; the Development Road quadrilateral memorandum ($17B, Faw-Turkey) (memoranda) |
| August 2024 | Anti-PKK cooperation: Joint Security Coordination Center in Baghdad plus the Zilkan training center (agreement) |
| 2026 | Purchase of ~20 Turkish short-range air-defense/counter-drone systems finalized (contract) |
| 28 July 2026 | Commander-in-Chief Office Director Al-Shammari’s SSB visit plus ASELSAN the same week (meeting) |
For Ankara’s current interlocutor, see the person file: Who is Abdulamir Al-Shammari?
Possible matches for Turkish industry — this is Envanter Medya’s open-source editorial assessment, not confirmed sales information. The 2026 air-defense purchase has opened the door for Turkish solutions in the low-altitude layer; integration needs with KM-SAM may bring radar and command-control headings onto the agenda. Border security and the electro-optics family are the natural extension of the ASELSAN contacts; a reopening of the shelved TB2/T129 file is the scenario to watch. No new official negotiations on these threads are on public record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is Iraq’s defense budget?
About $6.0-6.3 billion in 2025-2026 (~2.5% of GDP); PMF spending sits outside this figure and is not fully disclosed.
Does Iraq operate the TB2?
No. The acquisition intent announced in August 2021 never became a contract and no deliveries took place; as of 2026 the file is effectively shelved.
What has Iraq bought from Turkey?
The purchase of about 20 short-range air-defense/counter-drone systems was finalized in 2026; the manufacturer has not been officially named.
What is the KM-SAM deal?
A $2.6-2.8 billion contract signed with LIG Nex1 in September 2024 for 8 Cheongung-II medium-altitude air-defense batteries; deliveries are pending.
How is the F-16 fleet doing?
34 of 36 ordered aircraft remain at Balad; readiness rates have been chronically low for years due to spares and maintenance.
What is the Development Road?
A $17 billion, 1,200-km transport corridor from the port of Faw to Turkey; a Turkey-Iraq-Qatar-UAE quadrilateral memorandum was signed in April 2024.
Sources and Verification Note
- SIPRI/defensebudget.org — budget band
- Breaking Defense, KED Global — the KM-SAM II contract
- Forbes (May 2026) — the Turkish short-range air-defense purchase
- f-16.net, The War Zone — F-16IQ fleet status
- Army Recognition, The Defense Post — Caracal contract and delivery
- France24, Daily Sabah, Crisis Group — the 2024 Erdoğan visit and security memoranda
- Image: Three Iraqi F-16IQs in formation, July 2019 — US Air Force, public domain, Wikimedia Commons
This file preserves the distinction between intent (2021 TB2/T129), memoranda (the 2024 visit documents), contracts (KM-SAM, Caracal, the 2026 air-defense buy) and deliveries (first Caracal batch); the off-budget nature of PMF spending is noted.
Last updated: 19 August 2026 — updated as new contacts, agreements or deliveries emerge.
