Turkiye has signed a contract with Iraq to build a local plant for artillery ammunition production, the agreement includes the transfer of manufacturing technologies and industrial equipment. As reported by Army Recognition, the agreement covers the production of 155mm artillery shells, propellant charges, and both 81mm and 120mm mortar rounds.
While the full terms remain undisclosed, the strategic nature of the deal is clear: Turkiye is increasingly exporting not just weapons, but entire manufacturing capabilities. The same was seen in November 2024, when Turkiye reached a similar agreement with Pakistan.
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In Iraq’s case, the country currently relies entirely on imports for such munitions — a serious logistical limitation for its armed forces. The new facility aims to address this dependency and strengthen the Iraqi defense industry.
The timing of the deal is also notable. It comes after Turkiye and Iraq began diplomatic rapprochement with the Kurdistan Regional Government, once viewed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. It's worth reminding that a joint initiative with Iraq to convert a Turkish military base near the city of Bashiqa into a bilateral military training center, launched in 2024, is also in progress.
Exact figures regarding cost or delivery schedules have not been published. However, data from The Military Balance 2024 gives some insight into the scale of Iraq’s artillery needs: the Iraqi Armed Forces operate around 1,064 artillery systems, including six M109A1s, 24 M109A5s, about 60 M198 155mm howitzers, and over 950 mortars in the 81mm and 120mm calibers.
Pakistan, the first recipient of Turkish artillery production equipment, maintains a significantly larger arsenal more than 4,600 artillery systems. Of these, 429 are 155mm self-propelled howitzers: 200 M109A2s, 115 M109A5s, 123 M109Ls, and 54 Chinese SH-15s. The country also fields 292 towed 155mm howitzers, including 144 M114s and 148 M198s.
These back-to-back deals suggest Ankara’s ambition to become a key military-industrial partner for Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East and Asia by offering not just weapons but the means to produce them locally.
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