Iraq to manufacture air defence system amid regional conflict

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government has decided to start making air defense systems following a series of drone attacks targeting military bases, diplomatic missions, and economic facilities across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, a military spokesperson said on Wednesday. The move comes as the country has seen dozens of drone and missile attacks related to the ongoing war involving US, Israel and Iran.

Sabah al-Numan, military spokesperson for the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, told Rudaw on Wednesday that the Council of Ministers has tasked the interior minister with providing systems designed to counter unmanned aerial threats. “The decision is to contract the Iraqi Military Industrialization Commission, and that commission will manufacture the systems,” Numan said.

He explained that the system would include radar and advanced missiles and “has the capability to destroy several different types of drones in the air.”

According to the spokesperson, the systems will be deployed across multiple locations to safeguard economic, security, and diplomatic facilities.

The announcement comes amid escalating security concerns after repeated drone and missile strikes across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in recent days. Numan confirmed that they will not be limited to federal areas.

“The system is not only for federal areas but will certainly be provided for the Kurdistan Region as well, because it contains many important facilities that must be protected,” he said.

The move also follows growing pressure from Washington for stronger protection of diplomatic missions. On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Sudani. According to a US State Department readout, Rubio emphasized the importance of the Iraqi government taking “all possible measures to safeguard U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities," in Iraq.

According to Rudaw’s tracking, at least 245 drones have been directed toward the Kurdistan Region since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran on February 28. Of those, 205 drones and missiles targeted Erbil province, leaving five people dead and 23 others injured.