US Approves Assault Rifles, Humvee Vehicles Sale To Iraq

The US State department has approved $295.6 million worth military equipment sale including 4,400 assault rifles, 46 machine guns and 36 Humvee vehicles to Iraq.

The sale is intended to outfit two peshmerga infantry brigades and two support artillery battalions, which will operate under the Kurdistan Regional Governments Ministry of Peshmerga (KRG MOP) with the concurrence of the central government, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Wednesday.

Apart from (4,400) M16A4 rifles; (46) M2 50 caliber machine guns, the requested equipment also includes (186) M240B machine guns; (36) M1151 HMMWVs; (77) M1151 up-armored HMMWVs; (12) 3 Kilowatt Tactical Quiet Generator sets; body armor, helmets, and other Organization Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE).

Besides, the request also includes sale of small arms and associated accessories including tripods, cleaning kits, magazines, and mounts; mortar systems and associated equipment.

Further the foreign military sales also includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) detection and protective equipment; dismounted and mounted radio systems; commercial navigation equipment including compasses, binoculars, and Geospatial Position System (GPS) limited to the Standard Positioning System (SPS); M1142 HMMWVs; medical equipment; Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP).

The approved sale includes cargo and transportation equipment such as light tactical vehicles, medium tactical vehicles, water trucks, fuel trucks, and ambulances; (36) refurbished M119A2 105mm howitzers; spare parts, training and associated equipment related to the mentioned vehicles and artillery systems.

Congress was notified of the approval on Tuesday, and the notice does not mean the sale has been concluded, the agency said.