Togolese Armed Forces | |
---|---|
Forces Armées Togolaises | |
![]() Togolese Coat of Arms | |
Service branches | Togolese Army Togolese Air Force Togolese Navy Togolese National Gendarmerie |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-chief | President Faure Gnassingbé |
Minister of Defense | Essozimna Marguerite Gnakade |
Chief of Defence Staff | Brigadier General Dadja Maganawe |
Personnel | |
Military age | 18 [1] |
Available for military service | 1,577,572 [1] , age 15–49 |
Fit for military service | 1,104,536 [1] , age 15–49 |
Reaching military age annually | 74,036 [1] |
Expenditures | |
Percent of GDP | 1.6% [1] |
Industry | |
Foreign suppliers | France Russia |
Related articles | |
Ranks | Military ranks of Togo |
The Togolese Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées Togolaises, FAT) is the national military of the Republic of Togo which consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The total military expenditure during the fiscal year of 2005 was 1.6% of the country's GDP. [2] Military bases exist in Lomé, Temedja, Kara, Niamtougou, and Dapaong. [3] The current Chief of the General Staff is Brigadier General Dadja Maganawe, who took office on December 6, 2020. [4]
The current chief of staff of the army is Colonel Blakimwé Wiyao Balli. [5] The elite presidential bodyguards of the Republic of Togo Armed Forces are reportedly trained by Benjamin Yeaten, an internationally wanted Liberian military commander and war criminal. [6] [7]
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T-54/55 | | Medium tank | ![]() | 4 [14] | INS | |
FV101 Scorpion | ![]() | Light tank | ![]() | 12 [15] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panhard VBL | ![]() | Scout car | ![]() | 2 [16] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BMP-2 | ![]() | Infantry fighting vehicle | ![]() | 20 [14] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UR-416 | | Armored personnel carrier | ![]() | 30 [14] | INS | |
Panhard M3 | ![]() | Armored personnel carrier | ![]() | 5 [15] | INS | |
FV104 Samaritan | | Armored ambulance | ![]() | 1 [15] | INS | |
FV105 Sultan | ![]() | Armored personnel carrier | ![]() | 1 [15] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panhard AML | | Armored car | ![]() | 10 [14] | INS | 7 AML-90 and 3 AML-60 |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FV106 Samson | ![]() | Armoured recovery vehicle | ![]() | 1 [15] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panhard TC-54 | ![]() | Heavy truck | ![]() | 110 [14] | INS |
Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Field artillery | ||||||
M101 | ![]() | Howitzer | ![]() | 4 [14] | INS |
The Republic of Togo Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air Republic of Togo) was established in 1964, and French influence remains in the choice of aircraft used. Since 2020, the air force's chief of staff is Colonel Tassounti Djato. [17] The C-47 Skytrain was the first aircraft used; it was part of the force from 1960 to 1976. Replacing the C-47s were two DHC-5D Buffalo STOL transports in 1976. Also in the same year, Togo acquired five ex-German Air Force Fouga Magister armed jet trainers and seven EMB.326GBs from Brazil to form the Escadrille de Chasse. Togo's armed jet trainer fleet was upgraded in 1981 by the deliveries of five Alpha jets and by three piston engine Aerospatiale TB-30 Epsilons in 1986. The Fouga Magisters were returned to France in 1985.
During its existence the official name changed from Section Air der Forces armées in 1964 to Escadrille Nationale D Togolaise (ENT) in 1973, to Groupement Aerienne Togolais (GAT) in 1980, and finally to Armée de l'Air Togolaise in 1997. [18]
At present its operations are concentrated in the Lomé Transport Base at Lomé Tokoin Airport, where the transport aircraft are based, and the Niamtougou Fighter Base at Niamtougou International Airport, where the combat units are located. [19] [20]
It acquired the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV from Turkish company Baykar in August 2022.
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transport | ||||||
Super King Air | United States | utility / transport | 200 | 2 [21] | ||
Helicopters | ||||||
Aérospatiale Gazelle | France | scout / anti-armor | SA341 | 2 [21] | ||
Trainer aircraft | ||||||
Alpha Jet | France | trainer / light attack | 5 [21] | |||
Socata TB 30 | France | basic trainer | 2 [21] | |||
Aermacchi MB-326 | Italy | trainer / light attack | 6 [21] |
The National Navy was created on May 1, 1976, to guard the roughly 34 miles (55 km) of Republic of Togo coast and the seaport of Lomé. It currently has 2 wooden-hulled patrol boats, the Kara (P 761), and the Mono (P 762), which have both been in service since 1976. [22] [23] On 7 July 2014, the Republic of Togo navy received a RPB 33 patrol boat that was named Agou (P 763). [24] Currently, the navy's chief of staff is ship captain Atiogbé Ametsipe. [25]
Vessel | Origin | Type | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kara (P 761) | France | Patrol boat | 1 | Kara Patrol class |
Mono (P 762) | France | Patrol boat | 1 | Kara Patrol class |
Agou (P 763) | France | Patrol boat | 1 | RPB 33 class [26] |
unknown name | France | Patrol boat | 1 | RPB 33 class [26] |
unknown names | United States | Patrol boat | 3 | Defender-class boat [27] |
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It is one of the least developed countries and extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital, Lomé, is located. It is a small, tropical country, which covers 56,785 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 8 million, and has a width of less than 115 km (71 mi) between Ghana and its eastern neighbor Benin.
Gnassingbé Eyadéma was a Togolese military officer and politician who was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is a Togolese politician who has been the president of Togo since 2005. Before assuming the presidency, he was appointed by his father, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, as Minister of Equipment, Mines, Posts, and Telecommunications, serving from 2003 to 2005.
Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba was a Togolese politician. He was the President of the National Assembly of Togo from September 2000 to February 2005. He was a prominent member of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) and a member of the Pan-African Parliament representing Togo.
Solitoki Magnim Esso is a Togolese politician who has served in the government of Togo as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs since September 2013. He served in the government as Minister of Communication and Culture during the 1990s; later, he was Minister of State for the Civil Service and Administrative Reform from May 2010 to August 2012 and Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education from August 2012 to September 2013. He was elected as Secretary-General of the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) in December 2006.
Dynamic Togolais is a Togolese football club based in Lomé.
Zarifou Ayéva is a Togolese politician and the President of the Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR). He served in the government of Togo as a minister during the 1970s and became an opposition leader in the early 1990s. He was a minor candidate in the 1998 presidential election and later served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007.
Gahoun Kossi Georges Hégbor is a Togolese politician who co-founded the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) political party.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Togo:
Dama Dramani is a Togolese politician who was the President of the National Assembly of Togo from 2013 to 2018. He was Secretary-General of the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), the ruling party, from 2003 to 2006, and following the 2007 parliamentary election he was President of the RPT Parliamentary Group in the National Assembly.
On 24 January 1974, a Togo Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain carrying several notable political figures crashed at an isolated location near the village of Sarakawa in northern Togo. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the President of Togo, was on board the aircraft, which was flying from Lomé to his native village, Pya. As the C-47 descended for landing, it crashed near Sarakawa. Eyadéma survived, but claimed his French pilot and all three other passengers died.
Jean-Lucien Kwassi Lanyo Savi de Tové is a Togolese politician who served in the government of Togo as Minister of Trade from 2005 to 2007.
Niamtougou International Airport is an airport serving the north of Togo near Niamtougou. It is an international airport and Togo's second largest after Lomé-Tokoin Airport. The airport is located in Baga, 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Niamtougou.
Télévision Togolaise is the national broadcaster of the West African state of Togo. Télévision Togolaise is headquartered in the capital city, Lomé.
Mawupé Valentin Vovor, was a Togolese medical doctor, academic figure and Togolese politician. He was born in Kpalime in 1923 and died in Paris in 1992. Vovor studied Biology and Medicine in Montpellier and Dijon (France). He served as professor of Medicine of the French universities (1965), and was the first sub-Saharan African member of the French Academy of Surgery (1973). Vovor created and contributed to the creation of number of schools of medicine across francophone sub-Saharan Africa. He taught Surgery and Gynecology in Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Central African Republic, Senegal and Togo.
Visitors to Togo must obtain a visa on arrival or electronic visa unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries. Alternatively, they may obtain a visa from one of the Togolese diplomatic missions.
The Gendarmerie nationale Togolaise is a branch of the Togolese Armed Forces. Its 2,710 gendarmes protect people and property in rural areas, control roads and communications and contribute to provide assistance to the population in emergencies.
Ayawavi Djigbodi Patricia Dagban-Zonvidé is a Togolese politician. Holder of a doctorate in African and comparative literature, Dagban-Zonvidé is Minister for the Promotion of Women in the government of Arthème Kwesi Séléagodji Ahoomey-Zunu.
Protests against Faure Gnassingbé have occurred throughout Togo, starting when President Faure Gnassingbé assumed power after the death of his father Gnassingbé Eyadéma in February 2005.
MPDD is a political party in Togo. It is led by Agbéyomé Kodjo, who stood as the party's candidate for the 2020 Togolese presidential election. As of 2019, it had 2 mayors, 4 deputy mayors, 25 municipal councilors and 2 National assembly members. Its headquarters are located in the Togolese capital Lomé.