Libyan Armed Forces اوات ا ا in January 2011 according to Wikipedia Libyan Armed Forces From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Founded 1951 Service branches Libyan Navy Libyan Air Force Libyan Army People's Militia [citation needed ] Headquarters Tripoli Guide of the Muammar al-Gaddafi Revolution Conscription 18 months Available for 2,000,000, age 15–49 military service Active personnel 119,000 Reserve personnel 195,000 Deployed personnel 200 Central African Republic Foreign suppliers Russia China Brazil History Military history of Libya 1969 Coup d'etat Yom Kippur War Libyan-Egyptian War Uganda-Tanzania War Gulf of Sidra incidents Chadian–Libyan conflict Libyan Civil War The Libyan Armed Forces constitute the state defence organisation of Libya . They consist of the Libyan Army , Libyan Air Force and the Libyan Navy with other services which include the People's Militia, and the rebels fighting in Libya. The total number of Libyan personnel was estimated at 119,000, [citation needed ] though the 2011 Libyan uprising has sliced the military's numbers. There is no separate defence ministry; all defence activities are centralised under the presidency. Arms production is limited and manufacturers are state-owned. [1] Colonel Abu-Bakr Yunis Jaber is the chief of the staff of the military. [citation needed ] The roots of the contemporary Libyan armed forces can be traced to the Libyan Arab Force (popularly known as the Sanusi Army) of World War II .[2] Shortly after Italy entered the war, a number of Libyan leaders living in exile in Egypt called on their compatriots to organise themselves into military units and join the British in the war against the Axis powers. Five battalions, which were initially designed for guerrilla warfare in the Al Jabal al Akhdar region of Cyrenaica , were established under British command. Because the high mobility of the desert campaigns required a considerable degree of technical and mechanical expertise, the Libyan forces were used primarily as auxiliaries, guarding military installations and prisoners. One battalion, however, participated in the fighting at Tobruk . After Britain succeeded in occupying the Libyan territories, the need for the British-trained and equipped Sanusi troops appeared to be over. The Sanusi Army was reluctant to disband, however, and the majority of its members arranged to be transferred to the local police force in Cyrenaica under the British military administration. When Libya gained its independence in 1951, veterans of the original Sanusi Army formed the nucleus of the Royal Libyan Army. British Army troops, part of Middle East Command and comprising 25th Armoured Brigade and briefly 10th Armoured Division , were still present after independence and stayed in Libya until at least 1957. Army Main article: Libyan Army The current strength of the Libyan Army consists of 25,000 volunteers with an additional ε25,000 conscripts (total 50,000). The army is organised into 11 Border Defence and 4 Security Zones, one regime security brigade, 10 Tank Battalions, 10 Mechanized Infantry Battalions, 18 Infantry Battalions, 6 Commando Battalions, 22 Artillery Battalions, 4 SSM Brigade and 7 Air Defence Artillery Battalions. [3] In 2009, it emerged that a British Special Air Service team were training Libyan special forces. [4] Khamis al-Qadhafi's 32nd Brigade is one of the main regime protection forces. The ' Khamis Brigade ' is considered by U.S. diplomats as the most capable of defending the regime. [5] Though the Libyan army has a large amount of fighting equipment at its disposal, the vast majority was bought from the Soviet Union in the '70s and '80s and is largely obsolete. A high percentage remains in storage and a large amount of equipment has also been sold to various African countries. No major purchases of equipment have been made in recent years largely due to the decline of the economy and military sanctions experienced throughout the nineties. This and various other internal factors has seriously decayed the strength of the whole of the Libyan Armed Forces over the years and it has lagged behind its major neighbors in terms of its military capabilities and real war fighting capability. Libya dispatched a contingent to the Arab Deterrent Force in Lebanon in 1976 as the Lebanese Civil War escalated. [6] In the spring of 1979, after the Arab League had extended the mandate of the Arab Deterrent Force, the Sudanese , the Saudis and the UAE troops departed Lebanon, the Libyan troops were essentially abandoned and had to find their own way home, if at all. From the late seventies to the mid to late eighties the army was involved in four major incursions into Chadian Territory. The Libyan Army suffered great losses in these conflicts especially that of the Toyota War of 1987 largely due to poor tactics and western aid to Chad. All of these incursions were eventually repulsed and Libya no longer occupies Chad . This conflict was known as the Chadian-Libyan conflict . The Libyan ground forces have a large amount of mostly Soviet equipment in service. The IISS estimated tank numbers in 2009 as 2,025: 200 T-72 ; 115 in store; 100 T-62 ; 70 in store; 500 T-55 ; 1,040 T-54/T-55 in store. The IISS estimated there were 50 BRDM-2 and 70 EE-9 Cascavel reconnaissance vehicles, 1,000 BMP-1s, plus BMDs. [7] Russian official sources reported in 2010 that T-72s would be modernised with help from Russia. [8] 750 BTR-50 and BTR-60s were also reported by the IISS. Other reported wheeled vehicles in service include 100 EE-11 Urutu , and Czechoslovak OT-64 SKOT .[9] The IISS estimated artillery in service in 2009 as totaling 2,421 pieces. 444 SP artillery pieces were reported; 122mm 130 2S1 Carnation; 152mm 140: 60 2S3 Akatsiya ; 80 M-77 Dana ; 155mm 174: 14 M- 109; 160 VCA 155 Palmaria . 647+ towed artillery pieces were reported: 105mm 42+ M-101; 122mm 250: 190 D-30 ; 60 D-74; 130mm 330 M-46 ; 152mm 25 M-1937. 830 Multiple rocket launchers were reported: an estimated 300 107mm Type-63; 122mm 530: ε200 BM-11; ε230 BM-21 Grad ; ε100 RM-70 Dana ( RM-70 multiple rocket launcher ?). The IISS also estimated that Libya had 500 mortars: 82mm 428; 120mm ε48 M-43; 160mm ε24 M-160. Surface to Surface Missiles reported in service include FROG-7 and SCUD -B, (416 missiles). Anti Tank missiles reported in service include 400 French/German MILAN , and 620+ AT-3, AT-4, and AT- 5, all of Soviet manufacture. In 2009 the IISS estimated that Libya had Crotale , SA-7 Grail, SA-9/SA-13 surface to air missiles , and AA guns in Army service. A separate Air Defence Command has SA-2, SA-3, SA-5 Gammon , and SA-8b Gecko, plus guns. Reported anti aircraft artillery includes Soviet 57 mm S-60 , 23 mm self-propelled ZSU-23-4 and ZU-23-2, Czech M53/59 Praga , and Swedish Bofors 40mm guns . Small arms reported in service include TT pistol , Browning Hi-Power , Beretta M12 , FN P90 , FN FAL , SKS , AK-47 , AKM and AK-103 assault rifles, the FN F2000 , Soviet RPD machine gun, RPK machine gun , PK machine guns , DShK heavy machine gun, KPV heavy machine guns , SG-43 Goryunov , and a number of RPG type and anti-aircraft missile systems: RPG- 2, RPG-7, 9K32 Strela-2. Air & Air Defence Forces Main article: Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force was created after the U.S. and UK pressured then- ruling King Idris to modernise his armed forces so that they could better stand off against revolutionary regimes in the Middle East. The LAF was created in 1963. [10] The Libyan Air Force had an estimated personnel strength of 22,000 in 2005(?). There are 13 military airbases in Libya. [11] After U.S. forces had left Libya in 1970, Wheelus Air Base , a previous U.S. facility about seven miles from Tripoli , became a Libyan Air Force installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. OBN AB housed the LPAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities. Jets & Bombers • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 – 22; • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 – 68; • Sukhoi Su-22 – 90;The Libyan Air Force operated as many as 90 Su-22, with around 40 Su-22M3 and Su-22UM3K aircraft currently in service. • Dassault Mirage III – 8; The Libyan Air Defence Force is part of the Air Force and has the second largest defence network in region (second to Egypt). However the equipment – which is mainly Soviet weaponry from the 60s and 70s – is outdated and during the 1986 bombing of Libya by the US air force it proved inefficient. Only one of the 45 attacking US aircraft was shot down. Due to an embargo during the 1980s the system could not be upgraded following the US attack. [12] Surface-to-Air Missiles include: • Lavochkin SA-2 Guideline – 300; • Isayev SA-3 Goa – 250; • Almaz SA-5 Gammon – 380; • S-200 missile systems – 70; • 9K38 Igla – 380; • 9K34 Strela-3 – 278; • ZSU-23-4Shilka – 200; • ZSU-57-2 – 75; • 2K12 Kub - 50; [1] Navy The Libyan Navy is the maritime force of Libya, established in November 1962. It is a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates , corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability. The Navy has always been the smallest of Libya's services and has always been dependent on foreign sources for equipment, spare parts, and training. The total personnel of the Libyan Navy is about 8,000. Its first warship was delivered in 1966.