Kurdistan may soon get air defenses following missile, drone attacks

The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, passed by Congress, includes a provision to equip Iraq’s Kurdistan Peshmerga forces with air defenses. This step is crucial for the autonomous region, given the recurrent missile and drone attacks by neighboring Iran and Iran-backed militias. Currently defenseless against these threats, the move would be warmly welcomed by Kurdistan.

The provision in the recently passed bill, approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, mandates the secretaries of defense and state to create a plan by Feb. 1, 2024, to equip and train Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in countering missile, rocket, and unmanned system attacks. The plan must be implemented within 90 days of its development and is expected to be signed by President Biden.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in October, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have faced recurring rocket and drone attacks. These attacks specifically targeted the U.S. troop base located at Erbil International Airport (EIA) in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Notably, the airport had already experienced rocket attacks back in September 2020, long before the current conflict in Gaza.

Experts suggest that the provision of air defenses to the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces might provoke anger and frustration from neighboring countries. It is anticipated that this move could potentially tense the relationships with these neighboring nations.

On Dec. 8, a drone carrying explosives crashed into an unfinished residential building in Erbil. Had the building been completed and inhabited, the potential for civilian casualties would have been significant. Unlike the residential neighborhoods surrounding Baghdad’s Green Zone, which have also faced militia rocket and drone attacks targeting the U.S. Embassy, the urban areas near Erbil International Airport (EIA) have more tall buildings, with ongoing construction of additional structures.

The U.S. is expected to provide Iraqi Kurdistan with short to medium-range systems to counter militia rocket and drone attacks. Iraqi Kurdistan would use these systems solely for defensive purposes. Although Iran may raise objections and seek clarification, it is unlikely to perceive such an acquisition as a strategic threat.