3 دول على طاولة بغداد لتعزيز الدفاعات الجوية

The Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee revealed a request it submitted to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi to add a clause in the federal budget for the purchase of air defense systems.

Committee member Karim Aliwi Al-Muhammadi stated in a statement today (Monday) that the committee held a meeting with Al-Zaydi a few days ago to discuss arming the military sectors of the army and police, and purchasing air defense systems to protect Iraq's security and sovereignty.

He added: We requested the Prime Minister to allocate an amount for the Ministry of Defense within the public budget law to purchase advanced air defense systems from South Korea, China, and Russia.

Al-Muhammadi explained that the committee requested the allocation of the amount to the Ministry of Defense with the aim of approaching major countries to purchase advanced air defense systems, emphasizing the necessity of not relying on a specific country in the field of armament.

Iraq faces significant challenges in integrating its defense systems; its current network is limited to fragmented short-range systems with restricted coverage, such as the American "Avenger" and the Russian "Pantsir S-1," which have failed to prevent repeated violations of its airspace by regional powers.

The Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee had previously called for separating the air defense and air force budgets from the traditional budget of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to ensure a sustainable financial flow for building a comprehensive deterrence system.