KRG Planning to Establish Peshmerga Airforce
As part of it’s reform and restructuring plan, Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga Ministry is said to establish first-ever airforce.
A Peshmerga official told Kurdistan24 on Monday that the proposal has been finalised and it now awaits President Masoud Barzani’s signature who also is the Commander-in-Chief of the Kurdish armed forces.
The official however says they will be later discussing whether the Kurdish government will purchase the warplanes or helicopters or coalition partners will provide them.
Designed earlier in May by military advisors from the US, the UK and Germany in coordination with officials from the Peshmerga Ministry, the roadmap intends to implement fundamental reforms including uniting all the armed forces and reorganising the structure of the ministry.
Since the beginning of the war against Islamic State (IS), in which the Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been playing a leading role, US-led coalition members are providing the Kurdish fighters with arms and military trainings. However, up to the moment, every cargo plane containing military aid for the Peshmerga needs to go through Baghdad before arriving in Erbil.