Iraq recognizes its urgent need to develop a defense system to prevent violations of its airspace and targeting of its Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) sites. Whether the solution will be Russia's S-400 missile defense system has been a matter of contention for many months.
Hisham al-Hashimi, a security expert at the Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor that increased talks about beefing up security are probably an attempt to allay the anger of the Shiite parties supporting the PMU, after its sites were attacked on several occasions recently. On Sept. 14, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said the PMU had transferred its weapons to the ministry’s warehouses for protection.
In May, Russian news agency TASS reported that Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haidar Mansour Hadi had said the Iraqi government had decided to purchase the Russian
S-400 missile system. But on Sept. 19, he told Rudaw
no discussions about a purchase have even taken place. In between, undisclosed Arab sources told Asharq Al-Awsat news Sept. 7 that PMU leader Faleh al-Fayyad made it known during his recent visit to Moscow that he wants Iraq to purchase either the
S-300 or S-400 missile system. The sources also said Tehran has encouraged Baghdad to do so. Many factions of the PMU militia are affiliated with Iran.
Iraqi Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari paid a visit to the air defense command Sept. 15 to gauge its capabilities. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Tahseen al-Khafaji told Al-Monitor, “We intend to purchase state-of-the-art surveillance devices designed to monitor flying objects, as part of a five-year plan to build defense capabilities, mainly air defense.”
Khafaji acknowledged, “Iraq’s current air defense systems need to keep abreast of the latest developments to confront new types of threats that did not exist before.” He added, “The Iraqi air force [currently] has radar monitoring systems and air defense missiles designed to target low-altitude flying objects.”
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