Military of Uzbekistan
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| Military of Uzbekistan |
|
|---|---|
| Service branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard |
| Conscription | 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months |
| Available for military service |
6,340,220 males, age 18-49 (2005 est.), 6,432,072 females, age 18-49 (2005 est.) |
| Fit for military service |
4,609,621 males, age 18-49 (2005 est.), 5,383,233 females, age 18-49 (2005 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually |
324,722 males (2005 est.), 317,062 females (2005 est.) |
| Expenditures | |
| Percent of GDP | 2 (2005 est.) |
Uzbekistan possesses the largest military force in Central Asia, with around 55,000 people in uniform.[1] According to the 1992 Law on Defense, Uzbekistan's military is for defensive purposes only. In terms of potential recruits, Uzbekistan has about 7 million males age 15-49. The Government of Uzbekistan spends about 3.7% of GDP on the military.
Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, used to be the headquarters of the Soviet Turkestan Military District and on 20 February 1992, the new Ministry of Defence Affairs took over the offices which had been formerly occupied by the district headquarters staff.[2] On 2 July 1992 a Presidential Decree established a Ministry of Defence to supersede the Ministry of Defence Affairs. Over the succeeding years, Uzbekistan replaced Russian and Slavic officers with ethnic Uzbeks and restructured the military to focus on targets like civil unrest, drug trafficking, and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.[citation needed]
Uzbekistan and Russia signed a mutual defence pact in 2005, what will also result in closer military cooperation. This marked a stark contrast to a few years earlier, when the US appeared to be Uzbekistan's favoured foreign friend, and relations with Russia were cooler.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Land Forces
The Army includes five military districts, four motor rifle brigades whose designations are not known,[4] the 34th (or the 37th) Motor Rifle Brigade at Andijan[5], and the 17th Air Assault Brigade at Fergana, the former Soviet Airborne Forces' 387th Airborne Training Regiment.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] MBT
[edit] RECCE
- BRDM-2 - 13
[edit] AIFV / APC
[edit] Artillery
Towed
Self Propelled
Multiple launch Rocket System
- BM-21 - 36
- 9P138 - 24
- 9P1401 - 48
[edit] Air Forces
The Uzbek air forces consist of units formerly part of the 49th Air Army of the Turkestan Military District headquartered at Tashkent. There are two remaining combat units, brigades at Karshi-Khanabad and Dzhizak.[6]
The 60th Separate Brigade is the former 735th Bomber Aviation Regiment combined with the former 87th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment. It has 31 Su-24s, 32 MiG-29s (which are apparently in store) and 6 Su-27s. Other recently disbanded units include the 61st Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kokand, which was itself a merger with the previous 115th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and the 62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Andijan. Regiments at both bases were disbanded in 1999. Apparently a total of 26 stored Su-17s, in very bad condition, may remain at Chirchiq.
[edit] List of units
- 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade (Karshi-Khanabad)(60 бап), Su-24/Su-24MR, Su-27- (31 Su-24, 32 MiG-29, 6 Su-27, 1200 чел.)
- Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade, Dzhizak, Su-25 - (Su-25, L-39, Mi-8, Mi-24)
- Separate Mixed Aviation Regiment, Fergana, Аn-12, 12РР, 26, 26РР
- Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron, Tashkent, Аn-24, Тu-134
- 65 овп, Каган, Бухарская, Mi-6,8- по MB-2002- 28 Mi-6, 29 Mi-8- б.396 овп ЮГВ
- 66th Separate Helicopter Regiment, Chirchiq, Mi-8/24/26 helicopters. The IISS Military Balance 2002 listed Uzbekistan with 42 Mi-24, 29 Mi-8,1 Mi-26
- 12th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
- Radio-Technical Brigade
[edit] Aircraft
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[7] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-2 |  Soviet Union |
light transport | An-2TD | ? | |
| Antonov An-12 | Soviet Union |
transport | An-12 | 20 | |
| Antonov An-24 | Soviet Union /  Ukraine |
tactical transport | An-24 | 1 | |
| Antonov An-26 | Soviet Union |
tactical transport | An-26B | 5 | |
| Mil Mi-6 | Soviet Union |
transport | Mi-6 | 30 | |
| Mil Mi-8 | Soviet Union |
transport/attack | Mi-8 | 84 | |
| Mil Mi-24 | Soviet Union |
attack | Mi-24 Mi-35P |
45 | |
| Mikoyan MiG-29 | Soviet Union |
fighter | MiG-29 MiG-29UB |
33 6 |
|
| Su-17 | Soviet Union |
attack | Su-17 | 24 | |
| Su-24 | Soviet Union |
attack | Su-24M Su-24R |
23 11 |
|
| Su-25 | Soviet Union |
attack | Su-25BM | 20 | |
| Su-27 | Soviet Union |
fighter | Su-27 | 25 6 |
|
| Tu-134 | Soviet Union |
transport | Tu-134A | 1 |
[edit] Activities and foreign relations
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States leased the Karshi-Khanabad airbase in southern Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan. The American base there was called "Camp Stronghold Freedom".
In September 2004, the (then) Royal Welsh Regiment (now 3rd Bn The Royal Welsh) of the British Army participated with the Uzbek Army Peacekeeping Battalion in "Exercise Timurlane Express" in the Farish Mountain Training Area. This was a 3-week NATO sponsored Partnership for Peace training exercise.
In May 2005, the military was involved in suppressing unrest in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijan. (See May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan for more details.) The same year the EU banned arms sales and imposed a one-year visa ban on 12 senior officials, including the security chief and interior and defence ministers, accusing them of bearing responsibility for Andijan violence. [2]
A joint statement of the member countries of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation issued in early July, 2005 on a conference in Astana (Kazakstan) called for a withdrawal of US troops from military bases in Central Asia. On July 29, 2005, Uzbekistan invoked a provision asking the U.S. to leave within 180 days. On November 21, 2005, the withdrawal of US troops from Uzbekistan was completed.
[edit] Arms control and non-proliferation
The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (as a non-nuclear state), and has supported an active program by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in western Uzbekistan (Nukus and Vozrozhdeniye Island).
[edit] External links and sources
- ^ IISS Military Balance 2007, p.327
- ^ Richard Woff, 'Independence and the Uzbek Armed Forces,' Jane's Intelligence Review, December 1993, p.567
- ^ BBC, [1]
- ^ http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/sng/uzbekistan.htm, accessed late September 2007
- ^ Press-service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan: Islam Karimov: no one can turn us from our chosen path
- ^ Brinkster.com
- ^ Uzbekistan Air Frce at globalsecurity.org
- CIA World Factbook page on Uzbekistan
- US Completes Withdrawal From Uzbek Base
- X Air Forces: Uzbekistan Air Force
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