Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Qurolli Kuchlari
Standard of the Armed Forces
Service branches	Uzbek Ground Forces Uzbek Air and Air Defence Forces Uzbek Naval Forces Uzbek Frontier Service Uzbek National Guard
Headquarters	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Leadership
President of Uzbekistan	Islam Karimov
Minister of Defense	Kabul Berdiev
Personnel
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.)
Active personnel	65,000
Expenditure
Percent of GDP	2% (2005 est.) Another reported figure is 3.7%

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Template:Lang-uz), is the name of the unified armed forces of Uzbekistan, consisting of a Ground force, Air and Air Defense forces, National guard and a Frontier service. They are reported to be the largest in Central Asia. According to the 1992 Law on Defense, Uzbekistan's military is for defensive purposes only.

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. 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 officers with ethnic Uzbeks and restructured the military to focus on targets like civil unrest, drug trafficking, and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

Uzbekistan and Russia signed a mutual defence pact in 2005, that 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.

'The country [has] also began professionalizing its military, an effort that has only limited success and erratic government support. But even in Uzbekistan, these changes represent merely a modest beginning and most of the benefits are concentrated in a few elite, higher readiness formations rather than uniformly applied to the entire force. The Uzbek military is woefully inadequate, but it is far superior to its neighbours.'

The government maintains a command and staff college for the military in Tashkent, based on the former Soviet TVOKU higher command college.

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," yet was more often referred to as "K2 Airbase" by the personnel in theater.

In May 2005, the military was involved in suppressing unrest in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijan, which became known as the Andijan massacre. Consequently, 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 the killings.

In the aftermath of the incident, President Karimov dismissed several senior military figures: Defense Minister Kadyr Gulyamov, Head of the Joint Headquarters of the Armed Forces Ismail Ergashev, and Commander of the Eastern military district Kosimali Akhmedov. Burnashev and Chernykh said that '..although these dismissals did not change the formal system of administration in the security and military structures, they reflected serious shifts in power relations among regional elites representing their clans.'

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 Karshi-Khanabad and any other bases was completed.

The European Union lifted the arms sales ban in 2009.

Arms control and non-proliferation

The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, and acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear state. It has also supported an active program by the U.S. Department of Defense Defense Threat Reduction Agency in western Uzbekistan (Nukus and the biological warfare test laboratory on Vozrozhdeniye Island).

Land Forces

Main article: Uzbekistan Ground Forces

Organisation

Uzbek soldiers during a parachute training at Fort Bragg (North Carolina) in 1997

The army includes five military districts, the Northwest at Nukus, the Southwest Special Military District at Karshi, the Central Military District at Dzhizak, and the Eastern Military District at Ferghana. In 2001, the Tashkent garrison was transformed into the Tashkent Military District.

The headquarters of the military districts and their areas of responsibility are confirmed. The subordinate brigades listed in the table below have been attributed to the various military districts either because they are located in the same city as the military district headquarters or are clearly within the military districts' area of responsibility - that is, the 37th Motor Rifle Brigade at Andijan.

Formation	Headquarters Location	Notes
Northwest Military District	HQ Nukus	Karakalpakstan, Xorazm Province
? Motor Rifle Brigade	Nukus
Southwest Special Military District	HQ Karshi	Qashqadaryo Province, Surxondaryo Province, Bukhara Province, Navoiy Province
25th Motor Rifle Brigade	Karshi (Nuristan)	SW MD, Military Unit No.08579
Central Military District	HQ Dzhizak	Dzhizak Province, Samarqand Province, Sirdaryo Province
? Artillery Brigade	Kattakurgan, Samarqand	former 353 art.bde
Eastern Military District(EMD)	Ferghana	Fergana Province, Andijan Province, Namangan Province
17th Air Assault Brigade	Ferghana	EMD, up to 5000 soldiers - 4 air assault bde
37th Motor Rifle Brigade	Andijan	EMD, referred to as 34th MR Bde
? Artillery Brigade/Regiment	Ferghana	EMD, from 105th Guards Air Assault Division, Soviet Airborne Troops
Tashkent Military District	HQ Tashkent	Tashkent Province, Established 2001
? Artillery Brigade/Regiment	Tashkent	Probably training artillery regiment in Chirchik

There are four motor rifle brigades whose designations are not known, and the 17th Air Assault Brigade at Fergana, the former Soviet Airborne Forces' 387th Airborne Training Regiment. Motorized brigades are located around Bukhara, Samarqand, Termez, Nukus, and Andijan.

Other Listed Formations

• 2 АК МС, Fergana, unit 49827, incl. 15 air assault bde, Chirchik training regiment and fergana airborne bde-1999
• Motor Rifle Brigade, Chirchik, unit 16707
• Motor Rifle Brigade, Samarqand, former motor rifle division? (reserve)
• Motor Rifle Brigade, Termez, former 108 motor rifle bde
• Tank Regiment (тп), Tashkent, Used to be located in Navoi, transferred to Ahargaran
• Engineer bde
• SF Btn, Tashqent, former 459th SF coy
• National Guard bde, Tashqent,1000 soldiers- including security btn, ceremonial company and SF company.

Exercises

Uzbek soldiers during the Exercise Cooperative Osprey '96

Uzbek troops participated in Partnership for Peace Exercise Cooperative Osprey '96 at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, hosted by the United States Marine Corps. They then participated as well in Exercise Cooperative Osprey '98.

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.

Current equipment

Reportedly, Uzbek armed forces' small arms include the AK-47, AK-74, Dragunov sniper rifle, Makarov PM pistol, and PK.

Heavier equipment includes:

Tanks

• T-72 - 70
• T-64 - 100
• T-62 - 170
• T-54/55 – 80

Infantry Fighting Vehicles

• BMP-1 - 180
• BMP-2 - 172

Armoured Personnel Carriers

• BTR-80 – 290
• BTR-70 – 36
• BTR-60 – 24
• BRDM-2 - 13

Towed Artillery

• 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) - 540
• 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1)
• 152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20)
• 152 mm gun 2A36 - 140

Self-propelled Artillery

• 120 mm 2S9 Nona - 60
• 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika - 18
• 152 mm SO-152 - 17
• 203 mm 2S7 Pion - 48

Rocket Artillery

• 122 mm BM-21 Grad - 60
• 220 mm BM-27 Uragan - 49

Air Forces

Main article: Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces

Uzbek Air and Air Defence Force shoulder badge

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.

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, and 6 Su-27s. Other recently disbanded units include the 61st Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kakaydy, 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. As many as 26 stored Su-17s, apparently in very bad condition, remain at Chirchiq (see Google Earth 41°30'05.69"N 69°33'44.90"E).

List of units

• 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade (Karshi-Khanabad)(60 BAP), Su-24/Su-24MR, Su-27- (31 Su-24, 32 MiG-29, 6 Su-27, 1200 personnel.)
• 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
• 65th Separate Helicopter Regiment Kagan, Bukhara Mi-6,8. According to the IISS Military Balance 2002- 28 Mi-6, 29 Mi-8. Former 396th Separate Helicopter Regiment, Southern Group of Forces
• 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

Uzbek Air Force maintenance personnel tow an Air Force Su-24 Fencer aircraft at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base.

Uzbekistan governmental plane Boeing 767-300.

Current air force equipment

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Sukhoi Su-27	Soviet Union	Multi role fighter		25
Sukhoi Su-24	Soviet Union	Long range bomber		32	Stored
Mikoyan MiG-29	Soviet Union	Multi role fighter		60
Sukhoi Su-17	Soviet Union	Ground attack		38	Stored
Sukhoi Su-25	Soviet Union	Ground attack		25	Active
Aero L-39 Albatros	Czech Republic	Light attack/ trainer		14
Ilyushin Il-76	Soviet Union	Heavy transport		6
An-12	Soviet Union	Medium transport		5
An-24	Soviet Union	Medium transport		1
An-26	Soviet Union	Medium transport		15
Boeing 767-300	United States	VIP Transport		1	UK-67000, governmental plane
Boeing 757-200	United States	VIP Transport		1	UK-75700, governmental plane
Mi-24 Hind	Soviet Union	Heavy attack helicopter		51
Mi-8 Hip/Mi-17 Hip	Soviet Union	Medium transport helicopter		64
Mil Mi-6	Soviet Union	Heavy transport helicopter		27
Mil Mi-26	Soviet Union	Heavy transport helicopter		1

Border Guard

Main article: Uzbekistan Frontier Service

The Frontier Service, also called the Committee for State Border Protection of the National Security Service, is the border guard of Uzbekistan. They have gotten into disagreements with the Frontier Forces of Kyrgyzstan in the Batken province.

Special Forces

The military, NSS, and MIA maintain several spetsnaz battalions, named Scorpions, Bars, and Alfa. They are commonly used against Islamic terrorists in the border regions near Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Further reading

• Roger N. McDermott, The armed forces of the republic of Uzbekistan 1992-2002: Threats, influences and reform, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 16, Issue 2 June 2003, pages 27 – 50