The Iraqi Armed Forces have received a second batch of BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) as a part of a recent arms deal with Russia, Iraqi sources revealed on July 27.
“The second batch [that consists of an unspecified number of BMP-3 IFVs] of the Russian armor deal arrived in Iraq coming from Russia … Under the contract with Russia, Iraq will be equipped with 300 armors of this type by 2022,” the Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted an Iraqi military source as saying.
The BMP-3, which was designed by Russia’s KBP and Kurganmashzavod, is considered one of the most heavily armed IFVs in active service. The vehicle is armed with a 2A70 100mm cannon, capable of launching guided missiles, a 2A72 30mm autocannon and a PKT 7.62mm machine gun.
Photos released by the Tactical Cell Facebook page revealed that the variant delivered to Iraq is equipped with addition side armors and a slat armor for the turret.
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The Iraqi Armed Forces received the first batch of BMP-3 IFVs from Russia last August. T-90S main battle tanks (MBTs) were also delivered to the Middle Eastern country under the same contract.
