Jane’s, a military magazine, reported that the Iraqi ground forces used drones for the first time in a mission to support artillery during a military maneuver .
The specialized magazine indicated that this step, the first of its kind, was announced by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense during a recent maneuver .
The report was based on video footage showing an Aeronautical Puma drone being launched manually, performing an artillery support mission during military exercises under the name “Fire Eagle “.
The report explained that the artillery used during the maneuvers consisted of 3 self-firing M109 howitzers of 155 mm caliber, 3 M198 howitzers, 3 D-30 howitzers of 122 mm caliber, in addition to 3 BM-21 multiple rocket launchers .
According to the report, the participating artillery units belonged to the 6th, 9th and 17th divisions and were supported by the Military Intelligence Directorate .
The report quoted an Iraqi officer as saying, “During the maneuver, targets were monitored and fire was directed for the first time using drones .”
In addition, the report stated that a TBQ-49 counter-radar, designed to detect artillery and mortar launch sites, was deployed as part of the maneuvers, noting that this radar was first seen in a video clip published by the Ministry of Defense last February .
The report pointed out that the locations where the maneuvers took place show that they took place in the desert, about 20 kilometers south of Ramadi in Anbar Governorate.
