The United States is planning to improve the offensive capacities of Iraq’s armed forces in the coming months, at a cost that exceeds $4 billion USD, Bloomberg News reported today.
The companies General Dynamics and Raytheon Corporation are in charge of most of the transactions, which include the possible selling to Iraq of 175 new tanks M1A1 and modernization of those the Iraqi Government already owns.
Besides the $1.6 billion USD the Congress approved last month for those aims, they are also planning to sell ammunition for those armored, machine guns and other kinds of technology and armaments for around $2.4 billion USD.
The tanks M1A1 will be better protected against land mines, snipers, as well as car bombs operated by suicidal elements of the extremist groups, members of the Islamic State (IS) that operate in that Arab country and have taken dozens of anti-tank equipment from the local Army.
The initial installation of said equipment will be carried out while the Pentagon is training several dozens of soldiers from 12 Iraqi and Kurdish brigades, with the purpose of improving their combat effectiveness against the IS, a process that according to US top officers would take three years at the least.(PL)