Armed Forces of Uruguay | |
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Fuerzas armadas del Uruguay (Spanish) | |
Founded | 1828 |
Service branches | National Army Uruguayan Air Force |
Headquarters | Montevideo, Uruguay |
Leadership | |
President of the Republic | Luis Lacalle Pou |
Ministry of National Defense | Javier García Duchini |
Chief of the Defence Staff | Rodolfo Pereyra Martínez |
Personnel | |
Military age | 18-49 |
Available for military service | 831,297, age 15–49 (2003 est.) |
Fit for military service | 672,030, age 15–49 (2003 est.) |
Reaching military age annually | (2003 est.) |
Active personnel | 24,000 (2001 [1] ) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | $492 million (2008) |
Percent of GDP | 2.3% (2020) [2] |
Industry | |
Foreign suppliers | Argentina Brazil Canada Israel Russia United States |
Related articles | |
Ranks | Ranks of the Armed Forces of Uruguay |
Uruguay topics |
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Uruguayportal |
The Armed Forces of Uruguay (Spanish : Fuerzas Armadas del Uruguay or FF.AA. del Uruguay) consist of the National Army of Uruguay, the National Navy of Uruguay, and the Uruguayan Air Force. These three independent branches are constitutionally subordinate to the President of Uruguay through the Minister of Defense. The government has trimmed the armed forces to about 16,800 for the Army; 6,000 for the Navy; and 3,000 for the Air Force. As of February 2003, Uruguay has more than 2,500 soldiers deployed on 12 UN Peacekeeping missions. The largest groups are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. There is also a 58-man contingent in the MFO in the Sinai. [3] The current Minister of Defense is Javier García.
The Army consists of some 15,000 personnel organized into four divisions.
It is equipped with 15 Israeli Ti-67 (T-55) Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), 17 American M24 Chaffee light tanks, 46 M41A1 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 24 American M113A1 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), 15 Czech BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), 130 OT-64 SKOT APCs, 64 German Condor APCs, 15 Brazilian EE-9 Cascavel, 18 EE-3 Jararaca armored cars, and 48 Russian lightly armored GAZ-3937 amphibious vehicles.[ citation needed ] In 2008, Uruguay also purchased 44 6x6 Canadian-made AVGP APCs rehabilitated by FAMAE in Chile after retirement from the Canadian Army, receiving a second batch of 100 of Grizzlys and 5 Huskys, the recovery version. It has 4 sets of RM-70 multiple rocket launchers. The army operates 40 Land Rover Defender 110SW vehicles, and is looking to buy between 30 and 40 more. [4]
The current assault rifle used by the Army is the Argentinian-built version of the Belgian FN FAL; it is being replaced by the Austrian Steyr AUG following a bidding contest in 2007 and 2008. In addition, about 300 Russian AK-101s are already used, and the elite airborne, commando, and antiterrorist Battalion 14 (Batallón de Infantería Paracaidista N.º 14) exclusively employ German Heckler & Koch G36s.
The Army will receive locally produced Glock 17 pistols as replacements for its legacy Browning Hi-Power and M1911 pistols. [5]
Uruguay Special Forces are now fielding an indigenous .50 BMG sniper rifle called the FS50 Peregrino. It is a single-shot bolt-action rifle that was developed in Uruguay for about two years. [6]
The Uruguayan Army was considering buying either the Panzerfaust 3 or RPG-7 as short-range anti-tank weapons. [7] Acquisition of the rockets was cancelled due to lack of funds. [8]
The Navy consists of about 5,700 personnel under command of Admiral Jorge Wilson [9] and is organized into four commands: the Fleet Command (Comando de la Flota or COMFLO), the Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval or PRENA), the Chief Directorate of Naval Materiel (Dirección General de Material Naval or DIMAT), and the Chief Directorate of Naval Personnel (Dirección General de Personal Naval or DIPER). The Navy General Staff (Estado Mayor General de la Armada or ESMAY) acts as an advisory body to the admiral.
The current fleet consists of one ex-German Lüneburg-class replenishment ship, refitted with helipad and used for helicopter patrol and transport and named ROU 04 General Artigas, one former United States Coast Guard (USCG) Cape-class cutter, named ROU 11 Río Negro, three former USCG Marine Protector-class patrol boat, named as ROU 14 Río Arapey, ROU 15 Río de la Plata and ROU 16 Río Yaguaron, three ex-East German Kondor II class minesweepers, a three-masted staysail schooner named Capitán Miranda (ROU 20) and other smaller craft.
The Navy also includes Marine Corps and a small Naval Air Station at Laguna del Sauce, equipped with two Beechcraft T-34C-1 Turbo Mentors, two Beechcraft Super King Air and three Cessna O-2A Skymasters fixed-wing aircraft, and two Bell 412 and one Bell OH-58A Kiowa helicopters.
The Uruguayan Naval Academy (Escuela Naval or ESNAL) is located in Carrasco, a suburb of Montevideo. Instruction consists of a 4-year course of study culminating in a cruise on the instructional tall ship Capitán Miranda, which lasts several weeks and takes graduates to various ports around the world.
The Air Force consists of about 3,000 personnel and organized into three Air Brigades (I, II, & III) and several Squadrons.
Combat aircraft consist of a few Cessna A-37B Dragonflies and transport aircraft of two Lockheed C-130s, two Embraer C-95 Bandeirantes, one Embraer C-120ER Brasilia, five Spanish CASA C-212-200/300 Aviocars and ten Cessna U-206H Stationairs. The helicopter fleet consist of a few Bell UH-1H Iroquois, five Bell 212 and two Eurocopter AS-365N2 Dauphin.
The Air Force Academy (Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica) is located at General Artigas Air Base in Pando, Canelones; the Air Force Technical School of Aeronautics (Escuela Técnica de Aeronáutica) in Toledo Sur, Canelones; and the Air Force Command Academy (Escuela de Comando y Estado Mayor Aéreo) at Captain Boiso Lanza Air Base in Montevideo. Training aircraft consists of twelve Italian Aermacchi SF-260EU, three Beechcraft UB-55 and UB-58 Barons, and five Swiss Pilatus PC-7U Turbo Trainers.
The Brazilian Armed Forces are the unified military forces of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Consisting of three service branches, it comprises the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Air Force.
The Military Forces of Colombia are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. They consist of the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian Air Force. The National Police of Colombia, although technically not part of the military, is controlled and administered by the Ministry of National Defence, and national conscription also includes service in the National Police, thus making it a de facto gendarmerie and a branch of the military. The President of Colombia is the military's commander in chief, and helps formulate defense policy through the Ministry of National Defence, which is in charge of day-to-day operations.
The Armed Forces of Paraguay officially the Armed Forces of the Nation consist of the Paraguayan army, navy and air force.
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations and participating in international peacekeeping operations.
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C Turbo-Mentor, powered by a turboprop engine. The T-34 remains in service more than seven decades after it was first designed.
The Uruguayan Air Force is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on December 4, 1953. It is the youngest and also the smallest branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. In 1977 it was determined that the mission of the Air Force is to conduct strategic and tactical aerospace operations on behalf of the national defense, exercising the sovereignty of the Uruguayan airspace and defending the independence, integrity, constitution and laws of the country. The Air Force must also conduct search and rescue missions and plan, propose, execute and supervise the necessary measures for the development of the aerospace potential, while providing any necessary and possible logistical support during the natural disasters that the country may suffer. Since 1985 this has been always carried out under the command of the President of Uruguay, and according to the Minister of National Defense.
The Argentine Air Force is the air force of Argentina and branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is general Xavier Isaac.
The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the Armada de México. The Secretaría de Marina (SEMAR) includes both the Armada itself and the attached ministerial and civil service. The commander of the Navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career naval officer.
The Marine Infantry is the naval infantry branch of the Spanish Navy responsible for conducting amphibious warfare. Fully integrated into the Spanish Navy's structure, the branch's history dates back to 1537 when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor formed the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles, making it the oldest marine unit in existence.
The Colombian Navy, officially the Colombian National Navy, also known as the "Armada Nacional" or just the "Armada" in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia. The Navy is responsible for security and defence in the Colombian zones of both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific oceans, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction.
The Naval Infantry Command, also known as the Naval Infantry of the Navy of the Argentine Republic and generally referred to in English as the Argentine marines are the amphibious warfare branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands.
The Colombian Naval Infantry, also referred to as Colombian Marines, is the marine force of the Colombian National Armada. The 53,123-member Colombian Marine Infantry is organized into a single division with four brigades, each with several battalions plus numerous small security units.
The National Navy of Uruguay is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy.
The Peruvian Naval Aviation is the air branch of the Peruvian Navy. It was originally formed in 1919 as the Naval Aviators Corps but was merged in 1932 with the Peruvian Army Aviation. The service was recreated under its current name on July 3, 1963. It is currently made up of three operational squadrons and the Naval Aviation School. The squadrons are distributed among three bases: Lima-Callao, which is part of Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport, San Juan de Marcona and Pucallpa. About 800 personnel comprise Peruvian Naval Aviation.
The Argentine Naval Aviation is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands. Argentina, along with Brazil is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft carriers
Punta Indio Naval Air Base is a military airport operated by the Argentine Naval Aviation, located in the countryside 5 kilometres (3 mi) northeast of Verónica, a town in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina.
The National Armyof Uruguay is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
ROU 26 Vanguardia is a Piast class salvage and marine research vessel in service with the Uruguayan Navy. The ship was laid down for the East German Navy in 1976, before being acquired by the German government after the Reunification of Germany. The ship was purchased by the Republic of Uruguay in 1991 and renamed Vanguardia.
The Uruguay Naval Academy (ESNAL) is a training institute that educates officers for commissioning primarily into the Uruguayan National Navy. It is located at Calle Miramar 1643, Barrio Carrrasco, Montevideo.