Military of Uruguay
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| Military of Uruguay |
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|---|---|
| Military age | NA |
| 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 |
NA (2003 est.) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $300 million (2007) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.1% (2007) |
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Communications |
The armed forces of Uruguay consist of an army, navy, and air force. These three branches are constitutionally subordinate to the president through the Minister of Defense. By offering early retirement incentives, the government has trimmed the armed forces to about 14,500 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 in 12 UN peacekeeping missions. The largest groups are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti. Also there is a contingent in the MFO in the Sinai, where 85 troops are stationed.
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[edit] Organisation
The armed forces of Uruguay are organised into:
- The Uruguayan Army (Ejército Nacional)
- The Uruguayan Navy (Armada Nacional), including Naval Aviation, Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval), and Marines (Fusileros Navales or FUSNA)
- The Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya)
[edit] Army
The Army consists of some 15,000 personnel organised into four divisions. It is equipped with 15 Ti-67 Tiran tanks, 17 M24 Chaffee and 22 M41A1 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 15 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, 90 OT-64 SKOTs, 64 Condor APCs, 15 M113A1s APCs, 15 EE-9 Cascavels, 16 EE-3 Jararacas armored cars and 48 Russian GAZ-3937s. The current battle rifle used by the army is the FN FAL. An Iranian company (Moldex) was bidding to replace the FN FAL, but since there is a UN embargo banning arms exports from Iran, there was an attempt to triangulate 15000 bullets (to test the three Khaybar KH2002s sent to the bidding process) through Venezuela, which failed and prompted an investigation. Other bidders are the Russian AK-101 (99% probability of win since this weapon is already in use in Uruguay), HK G36 (which reportedly will equip the special forces, Bn. Inf. 14 -Para), Steyr AUG, and the M4 carbine.
[edit] Navy
The Navy consists of some 2,900 personnel and is organised into four commands. It consists of 2 João Belo class frigate, 1 Comandant Rivière class frigate( in reserve), 1 ex German Type 701 class AOR, 3 patrol craft, 3 minesweepers ex-German Kondor class and some other smaller craft.
The Navy also includes a battalion sized Marine Corps (Cuerpo de Fusileros Navales) consisting of four brigades (company sized).
The Naval Academy (Escuela Naval) 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.
At Laguna del Sauce, the Uruguayan Navy operates a small naval air station and an Order of Battle that includes:
United States Beechcraft T-34C TurboMentor- United States Grumman S-2 Tracker
United Kingdom Westland Wessex- United States Beechcraft King Air 200
- United Kingdom BAe Jetstream
Germany MBB BO 105
Brazil Eurocopter Ecureuil- United States Bell 47
[edit] Air Force
The Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya consists of some 3,000 personnel and is organized into three Air Brigades.
Combat aircraft include the FMA IA-58 Pucará, and Cessna A-37B Dragonfly.
Training aircraft include the Aermacchi SF.260, Beechcraft B-58 Baron, and Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer.
Transport aircraft include the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, CASA C-212-200 Aviocar, Cessna 206H Stationair, and Cessna T-41D Mescalero.
Helicopters include the Bell UH-1H Iroquois, Bell 212 Twin Huey, Eurocopter AS-365N2 Dauphin, and Westland HC-2 Wessex.
The Air Force Academy is located in Pando.
[edit] External links
- Ejército Nacional - Official site of the Uruguayan Army (in Spanish)
- Armada Nacional - Official site of the Uruguayan Navy (in Spanish)
- Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya - Official site of the Uruguayan Air Force (in Spanish)
- Memorias del tiempo de vuelo - Actual and Historical Site about Uruguayan Air Force (in Spanish)
- Uruguay Militaria - Uruguayan armed forces discussion forum (in Spanish)
- [1] - Washington Times article on Iranian arms sales
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