Benin Armed Forces
| Benin Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of Benin | |
| Service branches | Army (l'Armée de Terre) Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB) Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) National Gendarmerie |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Patrice Talon |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel | 4750[1] |
| Expenditure | |
| Percent of GDP | 1% (2011)[1] |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |  France Soviet Union United States |
The Benin Armed Forces (FAB - Forces armées béninoises) constitutes the army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie of Benin. For a number of years, the Belgian Armed Forces have had an active programme of co-operation with Benin, offering training and coaching, donating redundant military equipment and using the country for limited military exercises.[2]
Army
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As of 2012, the Army has a strength of 4300.[1] It includes 1 armoured squadron, 3 infantry battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery battery, and 1 engineer battalion.[1]
Equipment
Small Arms
- Pistols
- Sub-machine guns
- Rifles
- Machine guns
- Anti-tank
Vehicles and Towed Artillery
| Weapon | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT-76 | Soviet Union | Light tank | 18[1] | ||
| Casspir | South Africa | APC | Casspir 2000 | 10 on order.[5] | |
| M8 Greyhound | United States | Armoured car | 7[1] | ||
| Eland Mk7 | South Africa | Armoured car | Eland-90 | 3[6] | Provided with French instructors for training[7][8] |
| Panhard VBL | France | Scout car | 10[1] | ||
| BRDM-2 | Soviet Union | Scout car | 14[1] | ||
| M113 | United States | APC | 18[9] | ||
| L118 Light Gun | United Kingdom | Howitzer | 12[1] | ||
| M101 howitzer | United States | Howitzer | 4[1] |
Air Force
After achieving independence from France in 1960 the Benin Air Force was transport equipped with seven French-supplied Douglas C-47s, four MH.1521 Broussards and two Agusta-Bell 47Gs. Two F-27s were entered service in 1978 for transport duties before being transferred to Air Benin. Also during the same era two AN-26s were acquired. In late 1985 two Dornier Do-28s entered service to replace the C-47s. A single DHC-6 Twin Otter was acquired in 1989.
Aircraft
Current inventory
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | ||||||
| Boeing 727 | United States | VIP | 1[10] | |||
| HS 748 | United Kingdom | transport | 1[11] | |||
| DHC-6 | Canada | utility transport | 1[11] | |||
Navy
As at 2012 the navy has a strength of approximately 200 personnel. It operates two ex-Chinese patrol boats, which are designated the Matelot Brice Kpomasse class.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l IISS (2012), p. 422
- ^ Mathurin C. Houngnikpo, Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Benin, 78.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jane's Infantry Weapons 2007
- ^ Photo Details. Marines.mil (16 June 2009). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ^ Benin purchases ten Casspir 2000 mine protected vehicles Archived 13 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine - Armyrecognition.com, 10 February 2013
- ^ DIO blindé au Bénin
- ^ "Senegal Instruction Operationelle Au Profit Des Forces Armees Beninoises".
- ^ Republique du Benin
- ^ "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ "Benin Government B-727". xairforces.net. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ a b "World Air Forces 2015 pg. 11". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Works consulted
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (2012). The Military Balance 2012. London: IISS. ISSN 0459-7222.
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.