Iraq to develop its naval forces
Iraqi naval forces. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi Parliament pledged to support the Iraqi military institution to develop and arm naval forces that would enable Baghdad to possess a powerful military fleet like the rest of the world, according to Baghdad Today News.
The parliamentary committee indicated that corruption and mismanagement prevented Iraq from possessing a strong military, especially with regard to the armament issue, in addition to the army’s focus on combating terrorism over the past years.
Iraq’s naval fleet is ranked 41st among the largest war fleets in the world, according to 2023 statistics from Global Firepower.
Iraq’s current naval fleet consists of 63 warships, including 26 patrol vessels and no large warships except for two corvettes.
The Iraqi army is ranked 45th worldwide, and its defense budget is estimated at about $5.7 billion.
The Iraqi army has 200,000 active soldiers, 130,000 paramilitary forces, and does not have reserve forces.
The Iraqi army was ranked 5th worldwide at the beginning of the 1990s, but that force gradually declined until the army was demobilized in 2003 following the US invasion of Iraq.