Iraq

Personnel & posture

Active personnel

193k

Mobilization window

~7 days to full field army

GDP (est.)

$264B

Order of battle

• Iraqi Security Forces

  • CTS / Golden Division10,000 – 15,000

    Elite counter-terror

  • Army mechanized brigades150,000 – 200,000

    Conventional force

  • F-16IQ34 – 36

    US multirole fighters

• Popular Mobilization

  • Badr / Asaib / KH brigades50,000 – 100,000

    Iran-aligned militias

  • Fatemiyoun / Zainebiyoun3,000 – 8,000

    Foreign Shia fighters

  • Iran-aligned brigades50,000 – 100,000

    PMU coalition

• ISIS remnants

  • Desert fighters (est.)2,000 – 5,000

    Anbar, Kirkuk, Diyala

  • Clandestine cells100 – 300

    Mosul and Baghdad finance

  • IED / suicide teams50 – 150

    Rural resurgence signature

  • Desert fighters2,000 – 5,000

    Anbar and Kirkuk

• Kurdistan Peshmerga

  • Brigades (disputed)100,000 – 150,000

    Erbil–Kirkuk tension

• ISIS remnants

  • Desert fighters2,000 – 5,000

    Anbar and Diyala

• PMU

  • Iran-aligned brigades50,000 – 100,000

    Popular Mobilization

• Iraqi forces

  • CTS counter-terror10,000 – 15,000

    Golden Division class

Bases & infrastructure (24)

• Iraq Ministry of Defense

  hub

  National command and crisis coordination

  command

• Iraq Army Headquarters

  military base

  Ground forces command and mobilization center

  army

• Iraq Primary Air Base

  airport

  Combat aviation and airlift hub

  air

• Iraq Naval Base

  port

  Fleet homeport and coastal defense

  naval

• Iraq Main Seaport

  port

  Strategic maritime trade and logistics gateway

  trade

• Iraq Defense Industrial Complex

  factory

  Ammunition, vehicles, and sustainment production

  manufacturing

• Iraq Munitions plant

  factory

  Artillery shells, small arms, explosives

  ammunition

• Iraq Oil & gas refinery

  factory

  Fuel processing and petrochemicals

  energy

• Iraq Integrated Air Defense Site

  military base

  Long-range SAM coverage for capital region

  air_defense

• Iraq Early Warning Radar

  military base

  Air and missile tracking

  air_defense

• Iraq Combined Arms Training Area

  military base

  Brigade-level exercises and mobilization

  training

• Iraq Border Defense Outpost

  military base

  Frontier surveillance and rapid response

  army

• Iraq Cyber Command Center

  hub

  Offensive/defensive cyber operations

  cyber

• Iraq Forward Corps HQ

  military base

  Theater-level ground command

  army

• Iraq Secondary Airfield

  airport

  Dispersal, training, and surge capacity

  air

• Ministry of Defence Baghdad

  hub

  Iraqi Security Forces coordination.

  command

• Umm Qasr port

  port

  Main seaport and coalition logistics.

  trade

• Tuwaitha nuclear research center

  research

  Former nuclear program site.

  nuclear

• Balad Air Base

  airport

  Central Iraq air hub.

  air

• Mosul reconstruction industrial zone

  factory

  Rebuilding heavy industry.

  manufacturing

• Kut army sector

  military base

  Eastern Tigris security.

  army

• Jurf al-Sakhar PMU sector

  military base

  Kataib Hezbollah–linked garrison.

  army

• Anbar desert hideouts

  military base

  ISIS rural resurgence belt.

  army

• Anbar desert ISIS hideouts

  military base

  Rural resurgence belt.

  army

Deployable units (19)

• 1st Mechanized Brigade (Iraq)armor
• 3rd Infantry Division HQarmy
• 7th Artillery Regimentarmy
• Air Defense Battalion (capital)sam
• Special Operations Task Grouparmy
• Coastal Defense Regimentnavy
• Tactical UAV Squadrondrone
• Logistics Support Brigadefacility · Supply and transport hub
• Armored Cavalry Squadronarmor
• Combat Aviation Wing (detachment)air
• Counter-Terrorism Service brigadearmy · Golden Division–class strike force
• F-16IQ squadronair · US-supplied multirole
• T-90S tank battalionarmor · Russian-supplied heavy armor
• Badr Organization brigadearmy · Iran-aligned Popular Mobilization
• Kataib Hezbollah battalionarmy · IRGC-QF partnered militia
• Fatemiyoun liaison detachmentarmy · Afghan Shia foreign fighters
• ISIS desert cell (Anbar)army · Rural IED and assassination
• ISIS Diyala sectorarmy · Mountain and village attacks
• Mosul sleeper networkfacility · Urban clandestine finance

Theater glossary

PMU

Popular Mobilization Units — state-recognized militia coalition, many Iran-aligned.

CTS

Counter-Terrorism Service — elite Iraqi special operations against ISIS.

Kataib Hezbollah

Iran-backed militia — attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS

Islamic State — rural insurgent remnants in Anbar, Kirkuk, and Diyala.

Golden Division

Nickname for CTS brigades — Baghdad counter-terror spearhead.

Al-Qaim

Western Anbar border town — Syria infiltration and militia logistics.

Chokepoint

Narrow sea or land passage where trade or military traffic can be blocked.

Rare earth

Elements used in magnets, motors, and precision weapons — China dominates refining.

SPR

Strategic Petroleum Reserve — emergency crude stockpile.

TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — advanced logic fab cluster.

Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz — ~20% of global oil transits.

Malacca

Strait of Malacca — busiest shipping lane between Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Suwałki corridor

Poland–Lithuania land bridge — NATO logistics vulnerability.

Cobalt belt

DRC–Zambia mining corridor — battery supply chain.

Lithium triangle

Chile–Argentina–Bolivia brine deposits — EV battery input.

Grain corridor

Black Sea / Danube export routes — global food security.

Red Sea corridor

Bab el-Mandeb through Suez — Houthi interdiction risk.

Taiwan Strait lane

Kaohsiung–Busan chip & container sea lane under blockade exercise.

Black Sea grain lane

Odesa/Danube export routes under missile and mine threat.

Horn access lane

Djibouti–Massawa–Assab Red Sea port competition axis.