The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that the country has taken delivery of T-72 tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles from the government of Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian armor is part of a $245 million agreement the Iraqi government signed with Apollo Engineering in 2021.
A cargo ship carrying the hardware arrived in the port of Umm Qasr on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Cameras reportedly captured at least 10 infantry vehicles and one main battle tank aboard the vessel.
The Iraqi army will use the new military vehicles on various missions, especially counter-terrorism. The country’s armed forces are believed to have more than 130 T-72 tanks.
“These combat wheels and armored tanks have various technical and combat characteristics, as they had a prominent role in the war against the terrorist Daesh and will also [be] a great addition to enhancing the combat capability of the Iraqi army,” the defense ministry said.
T-72 and BMP-1
Based on the Russian T-72M1, the Bulgarian T-72 features new night vision and thermal vision technology, improved armor, anti-radiation cladding, and infrared suppression coating.
It uses a 125-millimeter smoothbore cannon as its main gun and is also armed with a 12.7-millimeter anti-aircraft machine gun.
The BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle is powered by a 300 horsepower, V-shaped airless-injection diesel engine.
It is equipped with a 73-millimeter low-pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun and a 7.62-millimeter coaxial machine gun. The vehicle is capable of carrying up to eight army personnel.