Our weapons are back in Iraq
In June of this year, in the Iraqi port of Umm-Qasr, another batch of three Solntsepek TOR-1A flame-throwing systems delivered from Russia was unloaded from a transport vessel. It is powerful weapon production of Uralvagonzavod Research and Production Corporation was commissioned by Iraq as part of a large contract for the purchase of a land weapon in Russia worth 2013 billion dollars in 1,6. The current Solntsepek party is already the third in a row - together with a significant amount of other the weapons supplied in recent years makes it possible to speak of the full restoration of military-technical cooperation (MTC) of the two countries. After more than a 20-year break.
The first batches of weapons from the USSR came to this Middle Eastern country as early as 1958, immediately after the 14 revolution of July, as a result of which the monarchy was overthrown, a republic was proclaimed, and the British military bases were withdrawn from the country. The golden period of the Soviet-Iraqi military-technical cooperation came during the rule of Saddam Hussein, who came to power in Iraq in 1979 year. Unlike many of the so-called partners of the USSR, who received the mountains of Soviet weapons for free or on loans that no one was going to give, Iraq paid for deliveries in cash and easily convertible money into oil. Soon after coming to power, Saddam nationalized the country's main wealth — oil fields and the corresponding oil industry. The state acquired financial resources that allowed it to create with the help of Soviet supplies one of the strongest armies in the region.
The total value of contracts for the supply of arms from the USSR between 1958 and 1990 amounted to $ 30,5 billion at current prices, of which, before the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq managed to pay $ 22,413 billion ($ 8,152 billion in oil). In addition to the direct supply of equipment, the USSR trained Iraqi officers and specialists, Soviet enterprises carried out repairs of the supplied special equipment. An important component of the bilateral military-technical cooperation was the construction of facilities for the Iraqi military industry with the help of Soviet specialists. In the city of El Iskandariya, factories were built for the production of artillery ammunition, pyroxylin powder, rocket fuel, aviation ammunition and bombs. The USSR sold and transferred more than 60 licenses to Baghdad for the independent production of weapons, ammunition and military equipment, including Kalashnikov assault rifles, which quickly filled the entire Middle East. A huge amount of supplied Soviet weapons was enough for Iraq and for the Arab-Israeli wars, and for suppressing the Kurdish resistance, and for the exhausting Iran-Iraq war.
The large-scale and mutually beneficial military-technical cooperation between the two countries was violated by the Kuwaiti adventure of Saddam Hussein.
In response to the Iraqi aggression in early August 1990, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 661, according to which, among other things, all states should have banned the transfer of weapons and military equipment to Iraq. For more than a decade, Iraq has left the list of significant players in the arms market. It was only after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the adoption of resolution No. 2003 of the UN Security Council on the lifting of international sanctions from Iraq and the resolution of 1483 on the creation of Iraqi security forces in Russia in 2004 and Russia had the legal opportunity to return to the Iraqi market.
AFTER A LONG BREAK
However, the conditions in the country - political, economic - have changed dramatically. The country was de facto under American occupation, and the political and military leadership was under the control of the United States, which was in no hurry to return the Russians to the Iraqi arms market. Destroyed by a decade of sanctions and a US invasion, the country could no longer spend tens of billions of dollars on weapons in Saddam. In addition, the New Army of Iraq’s forces were initially extremely limited in number (35 thousand). Therefore, the rapid return of Russia to the Iraqi market soon after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the lifting of the sanctions did not happen.
The situation began to change at the end of 2011, when the last American soldiers left Iraq and the nine-year occupation of the country ended. On the one hand, the Iraqi leadership gained some freedom of action regarding the choice of partners for military-technical cooperation, managed to recover after the lifting of sanctions and the oil industry - the main source of revenue for military procurement. On the other hand, the numerous Iraqi insurgent groups, which gained strength after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, now concentrated their armed struggle against the central Iraqi government. With new force broke out the conflict between various religious and ethnic groups. Therefore, the Iraqi leadership began to look for a reliable source of modern weapons to counter the threats to which the country remained.
Installations TOC-1A "Sunlight" pass through the streets of Baghdad. Reutes Photo
And in the 2012 year, following several visits to Russia by an Iraqi delegation led by Acting Iraqi Defense Minister Saadun Duleimi and a meeting of Russian and Iraqi Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev and Nuri al-Maliki, several contracts were signed for the supply of weapons and military weapons to Iraq. equipment worth about 4,2 billion dollars. The package included the delivery of 48 anti-aircraft missile-gun systems "Armor-C1" and 36 (later - to 40) attack helicopters Mi-28НЭ.
The Americans decided not to put up with the loss of the Iraqi market share and launched an information campaign to discredit the Russian-Iraqi military-technical cooperation. Allegedly, the transactions were concluded with obvious corruption violations and require verification. However, after the trial, the adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Mousawi said that the deal was given the green light. An advance payment was made for the supplied weapons, in addition, in April 2013, an additional contract was concluded for the delivery of six Mi-35М helicopters to Iraq. In November 2013, Iraq received the first four helicopters manufactured by Rostvertol. In 2014, Russian military helicopters Mi-28HE were delivered to Iraq.
FRIENDSHIP VERIFIED IN BAD
By this time, the Iraqi state was faced with a new, much larger threat: in January 2014, the international terrorist organization Islamic State (IG) launched a large-scale offensive in Iraq. 1 January 2014, IG militants attacked the city of Mosul, 2 January they captured Ramadi, 4 January, Iraqi troops left the city Fallujah. The offensive was accompanied by a series of large-scale terrorist attacks in Baghdad and other major cities of the country. Great efforts by the government forces managed to stabilize the situation and repel a number of settlements. However, in June 2014, a new large-scale IS attack began in northern Iraq. Over 1300, armed militants seized military facilities and Mosul International Airport. Fearing the massacre, up to half a million of its inhabitants fled from the city. 11 June IG militants seized the city of Tikrit - an important point on the way to Baghdad. There was a threat of seizure of the capital of Iraq.
In these difficult conditions, the United States struck the back of the Iraqi government. The US government has delayed the shipment to Iraq of a batch of F-16IQ fighters purchased by Iraqis as part of the 12-billion package of contracts for the supply of American weapons to Iraq. The delivery was postponed indefinitely with the rather cynical in the current situation wording “until the security situation [in Iraq] improves.” Together with the F-16IQ, the Iraqis were to receive guided bombs and other weapons that could help stop the IS.
In the face of the actual refusal of the United States to supply the necessary weapons to Baghdad, the Iraqi government turned for urgent help to its long-time and trusted partner in military-technical cooperation - Russia. Already 28 of June, a few days after the appeal, the first five attack aircraft Su-25 were delivered to Iraq. They were delivered from a strategic reserve of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Artillery systems followed the attack aircraft. 28 July 2014, the first three heavy jet-flame-throwing systems TOC-1A "Solntsepek" were delivered to Baghdad by the An-124-100 "Ruslan" aircraft of the Volga-Dnepr Airlines. The resulting technology was soon sent into battle and helped to contain the onset of the IG. Thus, Russia not only managed to return to the arms market of Iraq after the 20-year break, but also helped the Iraqi authorities to keep the country from being captured by Islamists.
There was a significant contrast in which Russian diplomats and arms exporters played. On the one hand, the Americans, who were considered allies of the new Iraqi authorities, but refused to supply the F-16IQs to the Iraqis at the key moment, on the other hand, Russia, which promptly responded to the request of the Iraqi government.
PENTAGON EXPRESSLY CRUSHED
Meanwhile, relations between Iraq and the United States continued to deteriorate. F-16IQ fighters, whose delivery was scheduled for September 2014, have not yet been delivered. The next named delivery time is the second half of 2015 of the year. Moreover, a number of reports have appeared in Iraqi media referring to sources in the country's intelligence circles that the United States is supplying arms to their enemy, the IS militants. Evidence is given of the fact that military cargoes have been dropped on the territory controlled by the militants, numerous photo and video evidence of the presence of American weapons among the IG fighters, and evidence of individuals about the participation of the American military in the training of militants. With all the controversial and conspiracy the version of the American support of the IG, it enjoys considerable popularity among the part of the Iraqi establishment. There is no added understanding between the United States and Iraq of the facts of direct US support for Kurdish formations in Iraq’s territory, which are in opposition to the country's central government. Against this background, a picks between American and Iraqi officials, which took place after the IS capture of the settlement of Ramadi in May of this year, is indicative. Commenting on this event on CNN, the head of the Pentagon Ashton Carter accused Iraqi troops of lack of fighting spirit: "We question the desire of the Iraqi authorities to resist the IG and defend themselves."
In response, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said that the head of the Pentagon "used inaccurate information about the strength and capabilities of the Iraqi army in the battles against the IS." Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Qabban said on the RT television channel that the Iraqi authorities are hoping for help from Russia in their struggle against the Islamists. All this creates an additional window for Russia and Russian arms manufacturers for the delivery of Russian military products to Iraq. There is a situation of mutually beneficial and financial-military-political cooperation that is not so often found on the arms market. By supporting the secular government of Iraq, Russia rescues its long-time partner from destruction under the blows of the Islamists, thereby strengthening its military and political influence in the region.
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